All American Girl
by ebacusta
Summary: When Hikari Yagami moves back to Japan after spending nine years in California, she thinks nothing can be worse than leaving her best friend behind. Then she meets basketball star, Takeru Takaishi, and quickly finds herself proven wrong. Takari AU
1. Chapter 1: The Ice Queen

Friday, May 23, 2008

Edit: Saturday, May 15, 2010

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon. I didn't five years ago and unfortunately, I still don't. Life sucks, sometimes, you know?

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 1:

**The Ice Queen**

**

* * *

**

Three knocks alerted the brunette to presence of someone outside her door. "Kari! Wake up. You'll be late for your first day," Hikari's mom, Ritsuko, called through the wood. Both actions aimed at waking the teenager were unnecessary. Hikari was already up. She had been for over an hour, sitting at her desk, typing away at her laptop. She was talking to someone.

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Are you nervous?_

Kari laughed and quickly tapped out a response to the best friend she'd left behind two weeks earlier.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Are you blonde?_

Less than a month ago, Hikari's parents revealed to her that they were moving back to Japan after living in California for nine years. Within two weeks, they'd sold their house and most of the furniture. Five days later, Hikari was spending her last night in the U.S. enjoying an awesome surprise Farewell party at her best friend, Angela's, house. She turned her head and stared at the picture framed on her desk. It was taken at that party right after they'd cut the cake. Hikari stood in the middle. Her hair, long and wavy, draped over her shoulders. Her first day in Japan, she'd cut eight inches off, leaving her hair chin length. To her left stood Miranda. Her black hair, shoulder length, was straight and sharply contrasted with her blue eyes. Miranda enjoyed playing with her hair and makeup. Taking advantage of the contrast between her hair and eyes, she tried all kinds of styles in all kinds of colors. To her right stood Angela. Her blonde hair was long. Her bright green eyes glinted with happiness. Together, the three of them made up the inseparable team of Triple Threat, known and feared throughout their high school. When she'd left, Angela had been talking about cutting her hair. It got in the way of her surfing. Hikari and Miranda talked her out of it. Hikari smiled and inclined her head back to the screen as a message popped up.

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You'll do fine. The people at your new school will love you._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I hope so._

"KARI! COME ON SO YOU'LL HAVE TIME TO EAT!" Ritsuko screamed up the stairs.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I gotta go. Mom's calling._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Yeah. You don't want to be late to your first day of school. I'll talk to you later._

Hikari bid her farewell and signed off. "Coming!" she called. She grabbed her uniform and dashed into her bathroom. A quick shower later, she zipped up the green plaid skirt and studied herself in the full length mirror. Long, navy blue socks that stopped at her knee. Bare leg, then thighs hidden beneath her green plaid skirt. A white blouse tucked in to the waistband of her skirt with a black bowtie thread around her neck beneath the collar of her shirt. A green long-sleeved jacket completed the whole outfit. Hikari smiled and brushed her hair before clipping her bangs back out of her eyes. Because this was a special occasion, she dug into the drawer by the sink and carefully drew a thin black line on the edge of her eyelid and raked a mascara brush through her long eyelashes. She gave her face another once over. Satisfied, she screwed the mascara container shut, put it away, and left her room for the kitchen. Her mother was waiting.

"What took you so long? Eat. Eat! If you don't hurry, you'll be late."

"Actually, Mom," Hikari said as she rushed passed the woman standing by the counter, "I'm not hungry. Thanks, anyway. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Yagami Hikari, you stop and come in here and eat _right now_! I know how you get—never wanting to eat when you're nervous. Last time I let you get away with that, you fainted. I won't have any of that this time." She picked up a plate from the stove and laid it on the island in front of a chair. "Now." Sheepishly, Hikari smiled and shuffled back into the room. She seated herself and reluctantly picked up her knife and fork.

It was true. Nervous on the first day of her sophomore year, Hikari left the house without eating. She passed out halfway through first period and had to be carried to the nurse's office. Hikari had a hard time eating when she was nervous. And Hikari was always nervous for the first day of school, but this time more so than usual. She had not felt the feeling in the pit of her stomach which could only be likened to sheer panic, since she'd started the third grade nine years ago. It caused knots and twangs of pain. This was her first year back in Japan since she'd completed her second grade year.

Hikari began to eat. She had no intention of repeating the fainting incident from last year. She'd been hoping this year would be her chance to redeem herself, but now, she would forever be known as "The Fainting Girl" at St. Claire's Preparatory School. She sighed.

"Hikari, things aren't going to change much here. You'll have the same rules and guidelines. We'll expect the same things from you. You'll readjust to life in Japan in no time. Meanwhile, it might be best if you kept the same routine."

Hikari pondered her mother's words carefully. It took a moment for it to click. "Is this your way of telling me to get a job?"

Her mother hesitated a moment and then caved. "It teaches you the importance of money management. Besides, you value things more when you buy it with your own money."

Hikari chuckled and shook her head. "Fine, I'll look for a job."

Her mom smiled warmly. "That's all I could ask for."

"Have you heard from Tai recently?"

"I talked to him last night. He said he'll be by soon." At 20, Tai was already re-acclimated to life in Japan. He'd left America over a year ago to come to school in Japan. It had been difficult for Hikari to give up her partner-in-crime, but with Angela's help, she'd gotten used to it. How was she going to get through a whole school year without Angela? Angela was always there for her. They'd been best friends since the blonde had set her lunch tray down at Hikari's table. They had braved middle school and the first half of high school together. Hikari had counted on walking across the stage to receive her diploma with Angela beaming from her seat, hers already in hand.

Hikari shoved the last bite of eggs she could muster into her mouth and pushed her plate back, standing at the same time. She turned to go back to her room.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked curiously.

"Put my shoes on."

"Hikari." The girl turned to face her mother who quickly indicated the front door. Kari cocked an eyebrow. Her mother arched her right eyebrow in response.

A pause. "Oooh, right." The teen turned on her heel, grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

"I thought you said things wouldn't be different," Hikari called from the front room, where she was sliding on a pair of black three-inch heels.

"Shoe placement doesn't count!" her mother returned.

Hikari chuckled, rising to her feet. "I'm off! See you later, mom!"

"Goodbye, dear! Have a wonderful first day!" came the cheery response.

* * *

Takeru Takaishi, known among his peers as TK, got about as much enjoyment out of school as the next person. It was time consuming and, more often than not, boring. His passions, English, Japanese (particularly compositions), and basketball, seemed lost—practically non-existent—in the sea of "must-do's" and "completed-by's." That said he was not a bad student. He simply felt there were other, better things he could do with his time. Things like writing or practicing his three-point shot. Regardless, when his alarm clock rang, he dutifully dragged himself from bed and dressed for school.

He shuffled out into the kitchen, where he shared a few words with his mother before she rushed out to work. He sat alone munching on a piece of toast. He chewed slowly, hoping that the day would wait for him to finish breakfast. But as he already knew, time waited for no one. With as much enthusiasm as he could muster, he put his plate in the sink and dragged himself from the apartment.

"Hey man!"

Takeru turned to see his best friend, Ryuji, his fellow guard on the basketball team, standing behind him, hand raised in preparation for their usual greeting. "Hey," Takeru replied, grinning slightly as he raised his hand and clasped Ryuji's. They pulled toward each other and bumped shoulders. Satisfied, they pulled away.

"I gotta say that the end-of-summer party Miyuki threw was the _bomb_."

Takeru nodded. Miyuki was his girlfriend of five months. "She'll be glad to hear that. She worked really hard to out do Yumi's party." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, dread began to seep into the pit of his stomach. "But don't tell her I told you that," he added, quickly. "Miyu wanted it to seem effortless."

Ryuji shrugged. "A party's a party, man. But I won't tell."

"Thanks," Takeru said, breathing a sigh of relief. Fighting with Miyuki was like repeatedly stabbing himself with a knife, painful and unwanted.

The two friends strolled down the hall to their classroom, 2-A. Upon arriving, they were greeted by Akari, another member of the basketball team. His black hair was spiked into a faux hawk. It was against school regulations, but of course, Akari didn't care; he'd never had much of an affinity for rules, never had and never would. Daisuke Motimiya, star player of the soccer team, bounded up behind him, his hair out of control and big enough to hide a beehive as usual. "Have you heard the rumors?" Daisuke demanded.

"What rumors?" Takeru asked, frowning. He hoped it wasn't something that would cause problems with Miyuki. He slowly pushed his way into the room and headed towards his desk, Daisuki, Akari, and Ryuji following him.

"There's a new girl coming," Akari explained, shrugging.

"From America," Daisuke added, leaning over Akari's shoulder. He continued with a grin, "Toshi said he saw her when she was coming in this morning. I hope she's cute," Daisuke grinned.

"Toshi didn't say?" Takeru asked, curiously.

"Nah, he only saw her from a distance," Daisuke responded.

"What class is she transferring to?" he asked. Daisuke shrugged. Takeru shook his head. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. He and his classmates had mostly been together since childhood. They were already set in their ways and comfortable with their groups. A quick glance around the room filled with the bubble of excited speech confirmed his worry that the girl might have a hard time finding her niche. They were all busy catching up on what summer vacation had brought to each of them—whether it had been a new boyfriend, a tan, or shiny, new locks of hair.

The door at the front of the classroom slid open and Miss Kinoki, their homeroom teacher, walked in. "Take your seats, please." The clusters of friends quickly dispersed, but Takeru could tell the room was still abuzz with news of summer and the rumor.

After the whole class was seated, Miss Kinoki launched into announcements. A customary welcome back speech. A reminder that swim team tryouts were on September 3rd and basketball tryouts were September 3rd and 4th. With a sly smile, she mentioned that auditions for the all-school play in December would be coming up soon (these were not in the official announcements, but as the drama teacher, she felt compelled to mention it anyway). And then finally, the news the class seemed to be holding its breath to hear.

"As I'm sure you're aware, we have a new student joining us today. She hails from America and is simply delightful. Why don't you come in and introduce yourself?"

All eyes turned to the door as it slid open. Mouths dropped and lips pursed as she walked to the center of the room. Takeru glanced around the room and noticed he was one of two boys not drooling. The girl was of average height, slim with slender legs, and short brown hair. Her red eyes were shining with what everyone perceived to be happiness based on the big (gorgeous) smile on her face.

"Good morning," she said in flawless Japanese. "I'm Yagami Hikari. Though I am transferring from the United States, I was born here and lived in Odaiba for eight years before moving to Los Angeles, California. I just moved back to Japan with my family two weeks ago, so I'm still trying to reacclimatize to life here. If I make a mistake or offend you in anyway, please let me know. It's nice to meet you all of you. Thank you very much." She bowed slightly and glanced at the teacher.

"Are there any questions for Miss Yagami?" Miss Kinoki asked, looking around the room. Everywhere, hands shot into the air.

The teacher nodded to a girl with long, lightly curled brown hair that lay softly on her shoulders and bounced whenever she moved. The girl was smiling warmly. "Miyuki," the teacher said, indicating the girl with a nod of her head.

"What do you like to do?"

"I like shopping, cooking, and hanging out with friends." Satisfied with the answer, Miyuki crossed her arms and leaned back, smiling even wider.

"Daisuke."

The outgoing male, who had been impatiently waving his hand back and forwarded, eagerly launched into his burning question, "Are you single or seeing someone?"

Hikari was caught off guard. She blinked at him a moment and then threw her head back and laughed. Half the class silently sighed. She had a good sense of humor. "Single," she replied, smiling. Twice as many hands rose to ask the next question but Miss Kinoki saved her new student from the onslaught by jumping up and motioning for the students to lower their hands.

"We'll have plenty of time to get to know Hikari better during our breaks. Let's see…" she paused and looked around the room. "Why don't you sit…"

"There's an empty chair by me, Miss Kinoki," Aoichi exclaimed, pointing.

"There's an open seat beside me as well," Daisuke piped up.

"Hmm… Why don't you take the available seat by Takeru? Takeru, would you raise your hand, please?" Takeru did as he was told, regarding the girl with mild interest. Carefully, she picked her way over to the seat and sat down slowly, as if she was unsure of herself. She took a deep breath and sighed softly. She looked a little pale. Catching sight of her shaking hand, Takeru looked away, inexplicably embarrassed as if he'd been privy to some private internal battle, and instead focused on Daisuke, who was waving and grinning at her, trying to get her attention.

"Motimiya Daisuke, face the front and pay attention," Miss Kinoki commanded sharply without turning from the blackboard. Daisuke jumped and quickly turned around, his face flushing. The class tittered with laughter. Hikari smiled briefly and sighed again. Takeru couldn't help but sneak another glance.

_'She must be nervous,'_ he concluded and looked back down at his textbook.

* * *

At break, Hikari only seemed a little better. While some color had returned to her face, most had not, and what little was there drained when half the class stampeded towards her.

"So you're from California?" Akari asked. Hikari nodded, suppressing the urge to gulp. "What was that like?"

"It was, um… really sunny and, uh… warm," she said.

"Were the people there nice?" Rita, a dark haired girl with glasses, asked.

"Not more so than anywhere else. There were nice people and there were rude people."

"Did you have a boyfriend in California?" another voice piped.

Hikari looked startled. "What?"

Meanwhile, Miyuki sidled coyly up to Takeru and leaned on his shoulder. "Hey there, you," she said softly, looking up at him through long, thick eyelashes. Takeru felt his heart pump a little faster. His girlfriend was gorgeous. She was often told she could be a model and Takeru believed it with every fiber in his being.

"Hey," he replied in like manner. "Ryuji loved your party the other night."

She smiled, brightly. She'd been getting lot of compliments on her party. "Really?" she asked, glancing over at Yumi, who happened to be looking back at her. Yumi was standing with Ayame and Keiko, her two best friends, having what appeared to be a very serious conversation. Miyuki smiled triumphantly at the taller, raven-haired Yumi. The girl turned away sharply with a "hmph."

"Yeah. He said it was the 'bomb.'"

"The bomb?" she asked. "Isn't that one of those crazy American expressions?"

"Who knows," Takeru shrugged.

"Maybe our new American gem knows," Miyuki cooed with a small close lipped smile. Takeru returned it as he reached out to gently touch her face. "You look so pretty today, Miyu, you know that?"

She bristled happily at the compliment. "Thanks, TK. You look pretty hot yourself, though you could've combed your hair a bit more."

Takeru laughed. "Sorry."

The crowd next to the lovey-dovey couple seemed to be growing bigger and bigger by the minute. Hikari was feeling a little overwhelmed. And they kept asking awkward questions. "Have you ever been kissed?"

"Um… I don't know… what that has to do with my favorite song…" Hikari replied hesitantly. The room seemed to be getting a little fuzzy. She couldn't think straight anymore. However, no one seemed to notice.

"You like to shop? What's your favorite article of clothing?" a girl asked.

"Uh… I… I'm not… sure. Shoes?"

"Do you like ice cream?"

"…Yes."

"What's your favorite flavor?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Hey, are you okay?" a new, unexpected voice. She looked up and saw the blond boy the teacher had referred to as Takeru, standing with the girl called Miyuki. He looked slightly concerned.

"Yeah, I think I just need some air," she said and stood up. The crowd parted to allow her a way to get to the door, but instead of walking, she wobbled and swayed dangerously.

"Hey!" Takeru yelped, jumping forward, holding out his arms to steady her. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"Positive…" she whispered as the world spiraled into oblivion and her knees buckled.

"HEY!" he yelled as she fainted. Effortlessly, he caught her, and swept her up into his arms. "We have to get her to the nurse's office."

"Is she going to be okay?" Miyuki asked, clinging to his arm.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "The pressure and anxiety from meeting so many new people at once probably just caught up with her. She'll be fine with rest."

"TK, come on!" Akari shouted from the hallway. "Hurry up!"

"Be right back, Miyu," he replied and sprinted from the room, the unconscious girl hanging limply in his arms.

* * *

When Hikari awoke, she found herself instantly blinded by a fluorescent light hanging from overhead. Soft sheets enclosed her still trembling body. She opened her eyes again, slowly this time so that they could adjust to the light. Carefully, she sat up and pushed the covers back looking around. She was in a bed, which was closed off from the rest of the room with impeccably clean white curtains. Was she at the hospital? She thought a moment and shook her head. No, this had to be the nurse's office. Pushing the sheets off her body, she slid off the bed and shivered slightly as her feet made contact with the cold tile floor.

"If you'll check on Miss Yagami, I will look after Goro," a voice said suddenly. Hikari jumped.

"Gotcha, Miss Yatsukichi," another voice, closer, responded. Before Hikari had a chance to react, the curtains were thrown aside and she was greeted by a girl with long, lilac hair and brown eyes, framed by perfectly rounded glasses. Hikari blinked, fixing her stare on the hair. _'Is that her natural color?' _she wondered.

The bespectacled girl recovered first. "Good, you're awake. You shouldn't try to get out of bed just yet," she said, entering Hikari's sanctuary and pulling the curtain closed behind her. "You're likely still unsteady," she explained. Hikari allowed the girl to push her back into the bed and cover her up again. Had she been paying attention, Hikari might have been reminded of her childhood, back when she was still small enough to warrant a bedtime story and kiss from her mother after being tucked in. The girl busied herself with making sure everything was still in order in the room, but stopped upon realizing that her charge had not spoken a word. She turned, concern etched across her face. "Are you all right?"

Hikari was still focused on her hair and did not respond. The girl frowned slightly, but her face brightened after a minute of reflection. "Ah! Please excuse my poor manners. My name is Inoue Miyako. It's a pleasure to meet you." As an afterthought, she added with a giggle, "And yes, this is my natural hair color."

At the mention of her 'hair color,' Hikari jumped and flushed scarlet. She'd been so rude! Picking out the most unusual trait of the girl, she had honed in on it and completely ignored everything else the girl did. People probably made all sorts of cracks about Miyako's hair, both behind her back and to her face. She was doing it again, she realized suddenly. _'Speak, Hikari. SPEAK.'_

"A-Ah!" Hikari cried out as Miyako started back for the curtain. Miyako turned, looking like she was trying to suppress a giggle. "Ah, uh… Sorry," Hikari started, but from the puzzled look she was getting, she had the awkward feeling that Miyako did not understand her. "What?" Hikari asked. "Is there something on my face?" Her hands flew to her face, still flushed with embarrassment and started to feel it, frantically.

"Um…Is something wrong?" Miyako asked. Hikari was confused. She dropped her hands and shook her head. "Ah. You speak English so well. Have you been to America?"

English? She'd been speaking in English! In her flustered state, without thinking, she picked the language she'd been most familiar with using the past couple years and launched into an apology that probably sounded like little more than gibberish to the girl resting her hand softly against the curtain. She started again, speaking slowly, making sure she was speaking in Japanese. "I apologize. Yes, I lived in America until two weeks ago."

"Really?" Miyako asked, stepping away from the curtain and coming back towards Hikari. "What was it like?"

"It was fun. I liked it a lot," Hikari replied.

Miyako nodded. "Oh, so then you're new here. I thought I hadn't seen you around before."

Hikari nodded. "Yeah, it's my first day. I guess I got a little nervous, and uh… passed out."

Miyako laughed. "That's perfectly understandable. Going to a new school is bad enough by itself, but a new school in a new _country_? I can't even imagine. Have you eaten at all today?"

"Yeah, I ate breakfast so this wouldn't happen, but lotta good that did, huh?" Hikari replied with a little chuckle.

Miyako joined her, good-naturedly. "No worries. A little anxiety never hurt anybody. You should be fine with a little rest." Hikari nodded, smiling. She felt at ease with this girl. Her classmates, for whatever reason, petrified her, but in Miyako, she sensed the makings of her first new friend. Miyako stood, "I have to go on to class now. I really just popped in for a band-aid, but Miss Yatsukichi tricked me in to helping her. I would like to get to know you better, though. Hmm, say, you want to go shopping with me after school?"

Hikari's eyes lit up. Shopping? "Sure! I love to!" she replied, eagerly.

"Great. We can meet on the steps after last bell," she smiled. "Can't wait. See ya then!" She pushed through the curtain, and with a wave let it fall closed after her. Hikari leaned back against her pillows and smiled. Shopping with Miyako and missing class. The day was looking up after all.

* * *

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ So you made a new friend? That's great!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yeah. She's really cool. Her name is Miyako. I met her in the nurse's office this morning. We went shopping together after school and I got the cutest pair of shoes._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ That's wonderful, Kari, but what were you doing in the nurse's office on your first day of school?_

'_Uh oh.'_ Hikari didn't reply.

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hikari…_

Unsure of what to do, Hikari quickly ticked through her options:

_1.) Lie_

_2.) Play it off_

_3.) Change the subject_

_4.) Flee_

_5.) Tell the truth_

Angela had been her best friend practically since she stepped foot in California. They had always told each other everything, and Hikari, personally, wanted it to stay that way forever. Therefore, lying to Angela was out of the question. She could try to change the subject, but Angela was stubborn and would not let the situation drop until she got a satisfactory answer so talking about her new pair of shoes or trying to play it off as if she had been in the office by mere coincidence would do little good. Signing off was akin to lying. In some strange way, Hikari felt that leaving abruptly would drive a wedge between her friend and her, something Hikari would rather die than do. Angela truly meant the world to her. That left her only one choice: tell the truth.

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hikari._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ …I fainted this morning, okay?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Again? No, that's not okay! You did eat this morning, didn't you?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yes I did. It's not like I wanted a repeat of last year, Angela. I just got really nervous is all. The people are friendly enough. Maybe a little too friendly, at times…_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Too friendly? What do you mean?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ They ask strange questions for a first meeting. I have never been asked about my love life so many times in one day in my life._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hahaha. They like you. I don't blame them, you're cute._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Still. It was awkward._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I can imagine. But just relax. I gotta go. Time for school. Chase is waiting._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Kay._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ How is school?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Terrible without you here. I miss you a lot. And Chase is still trying to pretend like he's not at a loss of what to do without Taichi. And by that I mean, he doesn't know what trouble to get into and what to stay out of._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Haha. I miss you too. School is just not the same without you. Anyway, get going. Wouldn't want you to be late._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Kay. Talk to you when I get back. Sleep well, Kari. Sweet dreams._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Have a good day at school._

Angela signed off. With a sigh, Hikari did the same and closed her laptop. She glanced at the picture on her desk a moment for getting up and wandering into her bathroom for a bath. Life just wasn't the same without Angela.

* * *

"Daisuke, give it up. The girl's an ice queen," Toshi said, leaning against the windowsill and glancing over his shoulder at the brunette walking slowly across the courtyard by herself.

Takeru watched her as well. Akari, Ryuji, and Daisuke stood beside him, all looking with varying degrees of interest. "Why do you say that?" Takeru asked. He hadn't paid much attention to her since she fainted two days ago. He tried to have as much of his time as possible revolve around Miyuki.

"Dude, she's _frigid_," Toshi supplied. "She never says anything, never looks at anybody, and doesn't answer any questions."

"I bet she thinks she's better than us. Being from California and all. Americans are pretty self-centered. They think they can police the world," Ryuji added.

"Hey, cut her some slack. It's hard going to a new place," Takeru said, turning away from the window. "And you guys come on way too strong anyway. You wonder why she won't answer your questions? You're asking really personal stuff. 'Have you ever been kissed'? Why don't you just ask what time she goes to bed and if she leaves the window open at night?"

"No way, that's way over the line, Takeru. Gross," Akari exclaimed, recoiling, though Takeru could tell from the smirk on his face that he was joking.

"We're just trying to get to know her," Toshi frowned.

Takeru smiled, "Most people start with simpler questions. Like, 'What's your favorite color?'"

"She's still hot," Daisuke piped up, finally. "I bet I can get her to warm up a bit."

Toshi snorted. "Whatever, she's frozen solid."

Daisuke turned from the window as well, a grin plastered on his face. "Now, now, it's common knowledge that queens of ice prefer to play with kings of fire. And it just so happens, that I'm the perfect King for the job."

Takeru, Toshi, and Akari all stared at Daisuke and then exchanged glances among them selves. Simultaneously, they all burst into laughter.

* * *

In, out. In, out. It was a familiar pattern to her, and Hikari took comfort in it. Her feet hit the ground rhythmically. She took comfort in that pattern as well. In a world where everything was changing, the pattern of her breathing and the way her feet hit the pavement always remained the same whenever she ran. She had forgotten how soothing working up a sweat was. Unfortunately, she did not have time to revel in the cleansing powers of running. She did not have time to focus on the way everyone's attitudes towards her seemed to be changing from how they'd been when she first arrived. They still crowded her, but she heard the whispers. They called her an 'Ice Queen' and claimed her heart was frozen solid. She was scared to tell the truth, she'd never been in a relationship, lest people realize that she couldn't feel emotions. The latter accusations she found ridiculous. Of course she'd been in relationships before, but they were none of those people's business. She didn't know anything about them, and they, obviously, knew nothing about her. But she didn't have time to reflect on any of that. She was late.

Regardless of her tardiness, her run was more of a jog than a sprint. Her bag bounced on her shoulder, but it was rhythm was jerkier than that of her feet. In California, she'd been on the swim team since eighth grade. She longed for the adrenaline swim meets brought and the exhilaration of victory. She wanted to be in control again. From the minute her parents told her they were moving back to Japan, her life seemed to explode into chaos and disorder. Nothing was like it used to be.

She was so wrapped into her thoughts that she did not notice the blond boy running towards her. He too seemed distracted as he stared at his wrist watch. He was late to the basketball tryouts. As one of the stars of the team, it was his duty to help pick the members that would form the new team. He would get in trouble for being late. He'd stayed with Miyuki after school just a little too long. He looked up, preparing to put on a burst of speed, but instead ran headlong into another hurrying classmate.

"Ow!"

"Ooh!"

They bounced off each other. While he merely stumbled, the person he bumped into was lighter than him and was falling. Quickly, his hands shot out to catch him. Or rather, her. It was Hikari, breathing quickly, eyes swimming with an emotion that looked like fear or sadness. Perhaps both, he couldn't tell with just a quick glance. Her eyes. They were pretty eyes. Deep, warm, and insightful.

_'An ice queen?'_

She was mesmerized by his eyes as well. They were warm and reminded her of the ocean. The ocean she'd left behind in America. She instantly felt at home. It didn't matter that she was only twelve inches off the ground, or that a boy she knew next to nothing about was the one keeping her suspended. She didn't care that she was breathing like a baboon or that he was sweating. It felt right. She half expected to see Angela grinning beside him. She flickered her eyes to see if it was so. The split second in which they lost eye contact was all that was needed to break the spell. Angela wasn't there and she wasn't staring at the ocean. She was no longer in California.

It took a second, but the awkwardness of the situation they were in dawned on them suddenly and instantly, they both freaked as their faces turned cherry. Helping her back to her feet, Takeru shot backwards as soon as she was steady, apologizing like mad. She was doing the same thing, bowing and thanking him for helping her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I really should have been paying attention. I hope you're not hurt and—" They stopped. They'd been saying the same thing at the same time. Neither of them said another word, but both were visibly uncomfortable.

"So you're not hurt then?" Takeru asked after a long space of awkward silence.

"Um, no," Hikari replied. "Thank you for catching me. Sorry I wasn't paying attention. I should have been."

"No. Don't worry about it. It was my fault as much as yours," Takeru added. Hikari nodded and they stood in silence once more.

"I should get going. I'm late for the swim team tryouts," Hikari spoke, jerking her thumb down the hall.

"Yeah. I've got basketball," Takeru agreed nervously.

"Well… good luck," Hikari said.

"You too," Takeru responded, quietly.

She smiled. A small, awkward, but genuine smile. "See ya later," she waved, before turning and jogging on down the hall.

"You… too…" Takeru whispered, watching her retreating form until he could no longer see her. _'An ice queen?' _He couldn't believe it to be so.

**o-o-o-o-o**

Welcome to my new Digimon fanfiction. This is my triumphant return to fanfiction. I decided that I wanted to try something new; I've never written a normal high school romance before, so this is the product of that desire. The story was inspired by the song **"All-American Girl"** by **Carrie Underwood** if that gives you any indication of where this story might be going. The storyline of All-American Girl is something I've been pondering and mulling over since I first heard the song in January, though the plot only recently took to a solid shape.

The title should be spelled with the hyphen in it, but unfortunately, the site wouldn't let me put it there, so instead there's just a space…. It bothers me, because now everything's not all uniform, but, whatever. My favorite line in this chapter ("Queens of ice prefer to play with kings of fire") was not of my own originality. **Ice Queen **of Keiichi Anime Forever Forums let me borrow it from her, so for that, I am eternally grateful. Everything else around that line is mine though.

As always, your feedback will be invaluable to me, especially as I trod out into the unknown, so please drop a review! I'd love to hear what you have to say and if you've got any ideas, don't hesitate to send 'em my way.

**_Preview of chapter 2: Hikari makes the acquaintance of her grade's two most popular ladies. Though both seem pleasant, a word of caution from Miyako leaves Hikari unsure of how to take her new classmates. Meanwhile, Takeru continues to enjoy the company of his girlfriend and friends._**

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Other Time Consuming Things

Monday, June 02, 2008

Edit: Saturday, May 15, 2010

**_In the previous chapter: _**_After moving back to Japan for the first time in nine years, Hikari manages to survive her first day of school—she even makes a new friend! However, her once overly friendly classmates quickly begin to turn a cold shoulder towards her. Meanwhile, Takeru's life continues as normal as he snuggles with his picture perfect girlfriend, Miyuki. After a run-in in the hall, the two head their separate ways: Hikari to swim tryouts and Takeru to basketball._

Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, would I really be sitting at my computer writing fanfictions about it?

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 2:

**Team Tryouts, Popularity Contests, and Other Time-Consuming Things**

**

* * *

**

Hikari sprinted into the pool area and exhaled a sigh of relief upon seeing the relatively long line of boys standing by the pool. Ducking behind the bleachers, she dashed to the locker the room, already unbuttoning her shirt. (She was in such a rush that she nearly yanked it off before she entered the private sanctuary of the girls' bathroom.) Her panic was apparent. What if they'd already called her name?

Breathing in short, quick spurts, she hopped on one foot, struggling to get the other through the leg hole of her one piece bathing suit. She just had to be a suck up and raise her hand when the teacher asked for assistance grading papers after school. Now she was late. A rough, exasperated sigh escaped her cherry-tinged lips. Last time she made that mistake. Stuffing her school uniform into her gym locker and grabbing her swim cap, she burst back out into the bright sunlight and jogged over to a group of girls seated on the bleachers.

"Have the girls gone yet?" she asked a girl with bleach-blonde hair and light brown eyes.

"No. Just finishing up the boys and then it'll be our turn," she responded.

Hikari sighed. "Good." She hadn't appeared too late—rather, she'd arrived right on time. She settled back and watched the last group of boys dive into the water. Within seconds, her mind flashed back to the incident in the hall that had taken place just five minutes prior. His strength impressed her. She could feel his muscles rippling from the strain of holding her in that awkward position for so long. His face had been filled with genuine concern for her, and his eyes swam with some unrecognizable emotion. She didn't know how, but he understood her. He knew she wasn't the icy girl everyone painted her as. And while she'd never had a problem talking to others back in California, here, she seemed to freeze up (a task made even easier now because of the people blocking her out of their conversations). She felt trapped. How could she make her peers understand that she was just like them? If she could get close to him, she knew it would all figure itself out. Unfortunately, there seemed no way she could act on that desire without appearing like the boyfriend-stealing witch.

"Hey." The voice jolted Hikari from her thoughts. Startled, she looked around. "The girls are starting." It was the girl from before, staring at her with curious eyes. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Hikari replied before flashing her one of her biggest smiles.

The girl smiled back. "When Coach calls your name, you go swim. You put your name on the list, right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Hikari replied, nodding.

"Then you're set. The name's Yamanaka Sachiko, by the way." She extended a hand towards Hikari, smiling again.

Hikari stared at the hand, puzzled, but reached out and took the girl's hand uncertainly, giving it a shake. "Yagami Hikari," she said, quietly.

"What?" Sachiko asked.

"I thought you didn't shake hands in Japan," she replied.

Sachiko stared at her a hand a minute and then retracted it, laughing. "Haha! Either or, I guess," she said. "My dad's a business man, so he often deals with foreigners and has them over for dinner. We always shake hands, and I heard you're from America, so I just assumed…but then again, I suppose this isn't' your first time in Japan. Sorry."

"No, my apologizes. I just…wasn't expecting it," she said, with a short chuckle. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you t—"

"Hikari," a vaguely familiar voice interrupted the conversation. The brunette turned to see a familiar looking girl approaching her. She glanced back at Sachiko to apologize, but it seemed the blonde had back away. Hikari turned her attention back to the dark-haired beauty walking toward her.

"I'm sorry, but…" Hikari began, stammering slightly. She was surprised by the forward manner in which she'd been addressed (though she supposed it didn't really bother her).

"Miyamoto Yumi," came the terse reply. The girl climbed into the bleachers and slid onto the bench beside Hikari.

"Oh yes, we're in the same class! I'm so sorry I forgot your name."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I haven't personally introduced myself before today." She too extended her hand in greeting, though she provided her reason upfront. "This is how you Americans do it, isn't it?" She smirked at Hikari's surprised facial expression. "I was a foreign exchange student."

"Oh," Hikari gasped, grasping Yumi's hand. With a firm handshake, the two solidified their greeting. _'Her hands are so soft! I wonder what she uses.'_ "In America?"

Yumi smiled. 'S_mooth as butter_,_' _Hikari thought. "No, in England. But the cultures are somewhat similar from what I understand."

"Um, slightly, I guess."

"So, how are you faring so far? Not too overwhelmed, I hope. With all those boys interest in you, though, I wouldn't be surprised if you are."

"Interested in me, huh? I guess that's one way to put it…" Hikari fingered her cheek in thought. Yumi laughed. The sound bubbled up from her throat and cascaded from her lips like a waterfall. She turned back to watch the second group of girls but Hikari regarded her closely from the corner of her eye. She could tell the Yumi was the type of girl blemishes ran from, screaming. She stood tall like a bronzed Amazon with flawless skin. Her eyes resembled choice emeralds and sparkled as such with some unvoiced idea. Her hair, the color of coal, tumbled down her back like a silky stream, glimmering in the light.

Realizing she was staring, Hikari shook her head and grasped for something to say. "Are you trying out for the swim team?"

"Yes. Swimming is a favorite pastime of mine." Yumi stared at the a pool, a bored look on her face.

'_I guess that means this conversation's over.' _Hikari frowned. Only one word that could describe Miyamoto Yumi: perfect. And even that didn't do her justice. Hikari turned back to the girls tucking their hair under their swim caps and traced her cheek with her index finger in wonder. _'I've had experience with her type, but she seems completely different than the others I've encountered. She's nicer than Miyuki led me to believe. I don't understand why the two don't get along. They seem to have the same interests.'_ Absentmindedly, Hikari let her eyes swoop over the line of girls stepping up onto the diving blocks, and nearly lost an eyeball when her eyes bugged out upon landing on a certain girl tucking wisps of lilac hair into her cap. "Miyako?" Hikari exclaimed. She'd been so caught up in her thoughts and conversations, she hadn't even noticed the girl when she'd been sitting in the bleachers.

Yumi turned, interested again. She flashed her faultless teeth. "Yeah, didn't you know? Miyako's one of the best swimmers on the team."

"I can't believe she didn't mention it to me," Hikari grumbled. They'd talked several times since they'd first met a couple days ago. Yesterday afternoon, they spent three hours together after school, drinking coffee and flipping through gossip magazines—or rather, Miyako flipped; Hikari mostly glanced.

"Well, I'm sure she doesn't count swimming as the most important thing in her life. Especially when she has more fascinating interests," Yumi replied. Hikari nodded and watched in awe as Miyako dived into the water with perfect form. Hikari found herself mesmerized by the arched arms, going in and out of the water in timed intervals. Within two minutes, she completed her 200 meters and began drumming her fingers on the wall, waiting for the Coach to signal she could get out of the pool.

"Amazing," the brunette whispered in admiration.

"Isn't it?"

Hikari wanted to congratulate her, as she climbed out of the pool on the opposite side, but the Coach called her name. She flinched. Her turn all ready? Furthermore, had doubt creeped into her heart? She hesitated. What if she didn't have the speed or talent to make the team? She realized that her best time in California did not come close to matching Miyako's. (She used the phrase "close to" relatively loosely. In the world of sports, two seconds difference could not come "close to" the best score if those two seconds could have changed the victor.) Slowly, she stood up.

"You'll do fine," Yumi called after her. "The boys can't get enough of you either way."

Hikari tried to take Yumi's encouragement to heart, while simultaneously trying not to flush red from the girl's second comment. It was time for a mental pep talk. So what if her time didn't match Miyako's? Whether that held truth or not, she felt confident that she had a time that would earn her a spot on the team. Nodding resolutely, she carefully pushed her hair under her swim cap and lowered her goggles securely over her eyes, taking her place behind diving block number two. Sports were going to be the one thing in her new life that she could control. It wasn't an option. She _was_ going to make the team.

Stepping up on the block with the other girls, she repeated her resolution and bent down, preparing to dive. She could hear the whispers of the people watching, some trying out for the team, others just friends of people trying out for the team. She knew they were all wondering what she could do. They knew about everyone else _but_ her. She chuckled to herself.

"Ready!"

Hikari knelt. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Ah, how she'd missed this feeling!

"Go!" The starting gun shot echoed, but Hikari didn't hear passed the initial sound. She exploded off the block and felt her muscle tense, only slightly, as she eased into the cold water. She stared at the bottom as she tried to get as much propulsion from her dive as she could, and then she surfaced and started swimming. Right arm, left arm. Right arm, left arm. She focused on keeping her form and her speed. Flipping over, she hit the wall with her feet and pushed off. It did not take long for her to tag the starting wall and flip over to start her second lap. Before she knew it, she had tagged the wall for the last time and surfaced, gasping for air. She could hear splashing behind her, so she knew she had not finished last. Lifting her goggles, she grinned and turned around just as the other girls touched the wall. How had she done? Something seemed different. She looked around for any indication of how she'd done, but only saw other tired girls clutching the wall of the pool.

"Come on out!" the Coach yelled. Her voice sounded strangely clear and sharp. And then it hit her. It was completely silent. Aside from the splashing as the girls swam to the side, of course. No one was talking. Unnerved, Hikari climbed out of the pool and gratefully accepted the towel offered to her with a watery grin. Wiping her face with the towel, she turned to see if something was wrong, but instead found the Coach grinning at her, like a kid in a candy store. Slowly, Hikari walked back to the bleacher and sat beside Yumi again.

"Did I do something wr—?" Hikari began, but was cut off when Miyako bounded into the bleachers and tackled her, squeezing out what little air Hikari had.

"Hikari, that was amazing!" she exclaimed. "You were so fast. I mean, the heat started and you were—gone!" She quickly brushed her hands together, adding emphasis to her statement with the loud clapping sound they made on impact.

"So I… So I did okay?" Hikari asked, breathlessly, a smile sneaking across her lips.

"Okay? If you were anymore 'okay' you'd be the letters spelling word, Hikari," Miyako sniffed incredulously. The brunette chuckled at Miyako's analogy and pulled off her swim cap.

"Thanks."

* * *

Takeru scraped a sweatband-clad wrist across his forehead. Goodness. If he sweat anymore, he'd drown in it. He knew he was supposed to be standing on the sidelines. He knew he was supposed to be watching. He knew he was _supposed _to be constructing the new team. Coach Richards had promised him as much. But five minutes into tryouts, Coach changed his mind, and now, two hours later, Takeru found himself staggering up and down the court, playing against a rookie defense. Feigning to the right, Takeru sidestepped his opponents with ease and took the shot. It hit the rim, teetered on the edge and fell through the net.

A whistle blew. "Takaishi!" Takeru would have recognized the Coach's voice anywhere. It had a certain twang to it that the young basketball player had not heard anywhere else. Coach Richards had moved to Japan from America just over two years ago after marrying famed Japanese gymnast, Hitsurita Kichi. His accent remained just as pronounced now as it had been when he first arrived in Takeru's native country. The blond suspected Coach Richards' accent would always be there.

"Coach?" Takeru gasped as he jogged over to the tall man. The Coach towered over the sweaty blond. The team often compared their Coach to a tree. Absurdly tall, resilient, and stubborn. Whenever he formed an opinion about something, he set down deep roots and became unmovable in his thoughts. While it frustrated the team to no end, the Coach continued to do it—perhaps, Takeru reasoned, to get his boys irritated enough to work that much harder. Takeru stopped beside him and bent his head back so that he could look the man in the face. Easier said than done. Richards towered over Takeru as a human would over a dog or cat.

Richards jerked his thumb toward the bleachers. "Go on and siddown." Takeru nodded and collapsed on the metal bench beside his friends.

"Nice work out there, TK," Toshi grinned at him.

"Don't patronize me," came the tired response. He lay completely still, like a lump on a log.

"Hey, my sister just texted me and said that Hikari just swam 200 meters in just over two minutes," Akari interjected, his fingers flying over his phone's buttons. He added in a voice just above a mumble, "I didn't know Hikari swam."

"200 meters in two minutes?" Toshi repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Postive. Fumiko said her speed shocked everyone."

"What? She can't have athletic abilities, Toshi?" Takeru asked.

"No! Just… 200 meters in two minutes. She'd have to be really fast to do that!" Toshi repeated. "I can't even do that."

Takeru rolled his eyes. "Yes, because girls can't be fast. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it's not possible."

Akari voiced Takeru's thoughts without looking up from his cell phone screen. "You have a problem with accepting the fact that girls can be better at stuff than you. You still can't admit that Fumi beat you in table tennis that time that we went to that resort with Ryuji and his family."

"I went easy on her because she was your sister," Toshi replied, throwing up his defenses. Akari and Takeru looked at each other.

"Whatever," Takeru mumbled. He allowed his head to drop back onto the cool metal and his eyes to close.

They sat in a heavy silence for several minutes. When Akari next spoke, Takeru knew it was to him. "It makes sense though. She has such a slim figure, I should have known she has swimmer's body."

"She's lithe, yes, but she has too many muscles on her legs for swimming to be the only thing she does. She must do something else," Takeru said.

"Something else like what?" Akari wondered aloud. "Ballet?"

"I bet she's amazing at ballet," Toshi piped up.

'_Ballet's a sport he doesn't mind girls being better at than him,' _the blond snapped in his mind. Toshi's chauvinism grated on his nerves. He nearly voiced his opinion. Instead, he reminded him, "You don't even know if she does ballet, Toshi."

"She's got the body for it. You said so yourself." Takeru decided not to repeat Akari's assertion that she had a swimmer's body, not a dancer's.

"I thought you three were supposed to be assembling our new basketball team," a new voice chided. Takeru shot to his feet. The voice sounded like honey, tantalizing his senses with its sweet, sticky flow. The voice, of course, belonged to Miyuki. Just like the rest of her, it was golden.

"Miyuki." He embraced her and brushed his lips against her ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Cheerleading practice ended. I thought you might like to walk me home."

"Of course." He turned to invite his friends, but stopped. The last time he'd done that without asking, she'd gotten mad at him. Akari looked at him expectantly. "Well, see you guys later."

"Unless you want to come," Miyuki added, peeking around his shoulder. "We could grab a cup of coffee or something." Always the saving grace, her heart rivaled the size and the warmth of the sun. Takeru smiled back at her, gratefully. Akari accepted the invitation and stood, though his slightly slumped shoulders suggested he felt somewhat dejected. Toshi stood as well.

"I'll walk out with you, but then I have a prior engagement." The group shrugged and headed for the door, all of them ignoring the fact that practice had not yet finished.

"Where's Ryuji?" Miyuki inquired.

"Cut practice. Didn't feel like watching little squirts run around the gym," Takeru responded, airily.

"Coach, we're cuttin' out. See ya tomorrow," Akari yelled over his shoulder. Richards just waved and returned to torturing the wannabe basketball players.

* * *

"Yeah, Yumi's pretty," Miyako agreed.

"Pretty? Is that all you have to say about her? She's gorgeous—practically a goddess—and she's so nice. I don't understand why more people don't like her." Miyako regarded the brunette with a form of pity, but Hikari didn't notice. She was too lost in thought. "I wonder if it's jealousy."

"Look, Hikari," Miyako started slowly. "I'm sure you had people at your old school who God blessed with a beautiful face. Yumi gets kind of carried away with herself sometimes, and she's fairly self-absorbed. She doesn't notice when she steps on other people's toes and what's more, she doesn't care. I don't know if you can tell—actually, you probably can't, because this is all you know about these people—but they're all putting their best foot forward to entice you into joining them and their friends. They definitely aren't all as nice or gentle as they appear. Take everything they say with a grain of salt."

Hikari considered this a moment, slightly taken aback. Miyako had, in a roundabout way, just called her classmates liars! Hikari gazed at her with guarded eyes. Miyako was right. Not everyone was what he seemed. Maybe she'd just misunderstood, but her friend had sounded… resentful, for lack of a better term. But what did those kids have that Miyako didn't have? She was pretty, popular, well-liked among virtually all her classmates, and she was a year older than them, which meant, she got all the perks of being young before they did—makeup, driving, drinking, it all stopped at her door before it stopped at theirs.

_'Maybe I should have let her figure it out on her own,'_ Miyako thought. Hikari's strange glances depressed her. _'Clearly, she misinterpreted what I meant. I wonder if she was this naïve—no, that's the wrong word, I should say… this _optimistic_ at her old school.' _

"You wanna grab a cup of coffee?" Miyako suggested. The rise and fall of Hikari's shoulders as she shrugged them told Miyako all she needed to know. Miyako's statement had shaken Hikari's trust in her, but she didn't want to part ways, and a cup of coffee sounded good. "My treat," Miyako added a moment later, as they entered a busy café on the corner of the street.

"Long line," Hikari mumbled, as the two high schoolers stepped in behind a college couple, holding hands. The girl had brown hair cut like a boy's, and large eyes that held a promise of love spelled out in her delicate, flowery gaze. Her boyfriend's countenance held an expression so tender and gentle, it seemed like he was touching her, cupping her cheek in his hand and memorizing every aspect of her childish visage. So intense was the sentiment of love that Hikari suddenly had the sensation she'd invaded on a very private moment and turned away, embarrassment burning in the pit of her stomach. She felt as if she'd just walked in on them consummating their relationship.

After a moment of examining the wall, Hikari couldn't help herself, she snuck another look. She wanted a relationship like that. A bond so strong, that one glance could tell her intended everything he needed to know.

"Oh, I didn't expect to bump into you two here!"

The two lovers broke their gaze and turned back to see the source of the exclamation. Hikari inwardly cursed. In a second, the moment had been carelessly shattered by some callous heart. Though the voice sounded friendly and innocent, Hikari turned around ready to cause serious damage on the face of the offender. She was surprised to see Miyuki standing behind her, tapping her fingers curiously (Hikari could not tell if it was in impatience or not) on her bicep, flanked by two handsome boys—Takeru and one she only vaguely recognized. Instantly, she thought back to their encounter and felt a blush rise in her cheeks. She could tell it had popped into his mind too.

Ah! But she mustn't let Miyuki know! Tearing her eyes away from the blond, she smiled, "What a pleasant surprise. Do you come here often?"

Miyuki gaped at her as if she'd just suggested Miyuki dump her designer shades for a pair purchased at the 100 Yen Shop. "Yes, it's my favorite café. The croissants here are to _die _for." On the word 'die' her gaze flittered over to Miyako.

"They're that good, huh?" Hikari asked. "Is their hazelnut coffee of any repute?"

Miyuki tore her stare away from Miyako and returned it to Hikari with gleaming eyes. "Their hazelnut coffee is like a gift from Heaven."

_'A gift from Heaven? What a lame thing to say,'_ Hikari thought. _'And her actions seem so exaggerated.'_

"A gift from Heaven, huh?" Miyako finally spoke. "Just like you?"

The corners of Akari's mouth twitched. Miyuki tensed, and took in a sharp breath. "Oh, Miyako," she began, her voice liltingly light. "Always the _charmer_, aren't you?"

Miyako answered with a smile. "I try." Miyuki gave a strained smile in return.

"You know, I don't feel much like coffee anymore," Miyuki said, suddenly, whirling around to face her two male companions. "For some _reason_," she shot a glance over her shoulder at Miyako, her voice momentarily tinged with disgust, "I've lost my appetite. Why don't we just head on home instead?" Takeru and Akari looked at each other for the second time in the past hour. "_Don't_ you think that's a good idea? I don't _feel too well_," she added, her voice sharpening with each word.

"You don't feel well?" Takeru asked, his voice laced with concern. "Yeah, you probably should get home as soon as possible. Come on." They turned away and headed for the door; Hikari frowned. Akari caught her gaze and raised his eyebrow ever so slightly as he stepped across the threshold onto the street. Before she had a chance to react, the door slammed shut behind him, and she watched as he shoved his hands into his pockets and loped after his friends.

"Hikari?" Miyako questioned. "All right there?"

The brunette spun around. "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." One more glance at the door, and she faced the front again, wondering if, perhaps, she dreamed the whole thing, and Akari had just left with his friends. No arching eyebrows involved.

* * *

_**ShoeBunny91: **__I just don't understand why she'd say that, Angela. Miyako's fine just the way she is._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Kari, I'm in no position to tell you what to think about your friend because I've never met her, but I trust your judgment. And from the way you've been raving about non-stop for the last two days—maybe there's some truth to what she's saying. She may be trying to alert you to something._

_**ShoeBunny91: **__Something like what?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Aside from the language barrier, do you really think girls here and girls there are that different?_

_**ShoeBunny91: **__No, but what do you mean?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__I don't pretend to be an expert, but based on your experiences here. When has a girl who could easily be categorized as a "goddess" actually been nice to people outside her group?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__And sometimes, she isn't even nice to girls in her circle. Remember Alexandria?_

Alexandria. How could Hikari forget her? She was responsible for trying to make Hikari's days at high school completely unbearable. Without the support of her Triple Threat buddies, she might have buckled, but together, the three of them had fought back against her obsequious minions—or rather, her "friends." Alexandria, a modern day Aphrodite, with hair so golden, kids joked it had been strung by God with pure gold, and a single strand would make a person rich. At least that was the story. Made up by someone who didn't like her. She relished the (sarcastic) attention anyway.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Ugh. Of course. How could I forget her? Her venomous face is forever burned on the inside of my eyelids._

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__Haha!_

_**ShoeBunny91: **__But what are you saying?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I just mean that I don't think you should throw away this friendship over a misconception. Miyako's (did I spell her name right?) known these kids a lot longer than you. And it's highly likely that Nami isn't as great as she seems._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yumi, Angela. Not Nami. :P_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oops. Well, I tried. Just don't jump to any conclusions yet._

Hikari's phone sprang to life on the desk beside her.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I'll try not to. But, hey. I gotta go. Tai's calling._

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__No worries. I gotta run too. School and all that jazz. I think Chase wants to stop by Starbucks on the way there too. Tell Tai hi for Chase and me. :)_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Can do. Have a good day._

Snagging her cell off her math notebook, she flipped it open and raised it to her mouth. "Hello?" she asked, signing off messenger.

"Hey, Kari. It's me."

"No way! Are you sure?"

"Har har. I need to ask a favor of you."

"Sure, you haven't come by to see me. I should reward you for it," Hikari joked.

"I know, I know. I haven't forgotten," Taichi replied, sounding genuinely distressed. "School's a mess. I don't remember ever working this hard. I should cut back."

"Taichi…"

She could practically hear the Cheshire grin in his voice. "I'm just kidding. But that brings me to what I wanted to ask you about. I need a model for an advertising project I'm doing with Yamato and Sora. Since Sora wants to make clothes, I thought we could advertise her designs, and you could model her clothes. Yamato's gonna help me with the graphic designing and such. I suck at that class anyway."

"Sounds interesting. Count me in."

"Great! I'll be by the house tomorrow—this time, for sure!—with the others to get the pictures. What time will you be home from school?"

"Whenever I stroll home I guess. I don't have swim practice until Friday, so I'll come home by 5:30 if I can catch the subway."

"Okay. I'll try to come over a little early so I can talk to mom before we get started. How did your tryout for the swim team go, by the way? From the sound of things, you made the team."

Hikari could not stop herself from grinning. "Oh I made the team all right. Coach said I had the fourth best time on the team!"

"Fourth best? That's awesome! Congrats. But weren't you first at St. Claire's?"

"Yeah, but I haven't swam competitively for a while. I just have to get back in the swing of things. And fourth best isn't bad. Swimming does not dominate my life either."

"But track does?"

"Didn't say that."

"But I know it, dear sister," he replied in a sing song voice.

"Taichi, don't make me have to smack you tomorrow."

"I wouldn't _dream_ of it!" he exclaimed, the mock horror dripping from his voice. Hikari chuckled.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Tai."

"Good night, Kari. And tomorrow, you're going to tell me if there are any boys at that school of yours that I need to go smack around for getting too fresh."

Hikari laughed. "Good night, Tai."

"I'm serious, Kari. If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to cut class and come see for myself."

"Okay, okay. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Good. Catch ya later."

* * *

If there was one thing Hikari appreciated about going to school in Japan, it was the fact that she could walk there every morning. By herself. Attempting to do something like that in California would have earned her a spot on the evening news for being mugged, kidnapped, or worse. Well, not all the time, but it was more likely to happen there.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh scent of the flowers and water as she passed through the park, the morning dew slowly accumulating on the tip of the flower petal and sometimes dripping ever so elegantly on to her skin. It felt extremely clean in the park. Hikari enjoyed coming down here for her daily jogs.

Sighing, she stepped off the grass and crossed the street, taking to the concrete sidewalks for the rest of her walk. The hustle and bustle of the Tokyo in the mornings certainly resembled the morning rush back in L.A., but she preferred the leafy vegetation of the park to the sweltering heat caused by all the moving bodies and cars, particularly in the afternoons. At least she had a chance to sort her thoughts out and put together her resolution for the day before she made it to the classroom.

"Hikari? Is that you?"

So much for that idea.

"Oh my god, it is you!"

Hikari sighed and turned around. Miyuki stood behind her, Takeru at her side, grinning from ear to ear. Hikari returned the smile, though only half-heartedly. How did she keep running into this girl? The girl tired her out! Was she being stalked? _'No, no. Mere coincidence. Let it slide, Hikari. Let it slide.'_

"Good morning!" she exclaimed, brightly, instead of running away like she wanted to. Miyuki looked stunning, as usual. Today, her hair was wavy and tousled, as if she'd just rolled out of bed with it. The hairstyle suited her. If not for the fact that her eyes roved about taking in every detail around her, Hikari would have believed that the hair had come naturally and she hadn't spent half an hour in front of the mirror arranging it. She had an angel's face. Hikari knew if she reached out to touch it, she'd be rewarded with soft, smooth, flawless skin—and a layer of makeup. She almost complimented the girl on her appearance, but decided against it. Miyuki's eyes gloated, whether she meant for them to or not; Hikari could tell she was a little full of herself. "You both look well this morning," she added, instead.

"Thank you!" Miyuki replied, giddily. She cast a glance up her boyfriend, but the blond hardly paid any attention.

He greeted Hikari with a small smile. "Good morning."

Miyuki studied him a moment longer and then turned back to Hikari, still grinning widely. "Thanks for noticing." She stared at the brunette expectantly. Hikari knew she wanted a compliment. Something cheesy along the lines of, 'You looked so beautiful, how could I not?' Well she wasn't going to get one. Hikari didn't say anything. She merely nodded. Undeterred, Miyuki continued, "I heard that you swim really well. Word in hallway is that you're among the top five on the team."

Hikari didn't like the tone in her voice. "Yes, I am."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you." Where was she going with this? Her voice reminded Hikari of the voice Alexandria used whenever she was preparing to attack. Hikari allowed her eyes to flicker quickly to Takeru's face. He looked slightly uneasy as he looked at his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye.

"Of course. And you can only go up from there right? Maybe you'll be able to beat Miyako in the time trials and knock that fat-headed moron off her high horse. I, of course, will cheer for you. Absolutely," Miyuki continued. Though Hikari was certain Miyuki meant to compliment her by indirectly offering her the top spot on the team (though it was not hers to give), Hikari didn't appreciate it. Miyako had taken a hit in that 'compliment.' A quick glance at Takeru revealed that he didn't feel too good about her last comment either; his mouth hung open. Miyuki hadn't finished. "I think my friends would really like you. They love to watch swim practice." An invitation to join Miyuki's circle? From what Hikari could tell, her grade fractured between Miyuki's group and Yumi's crowd. They held the top spots as the two most popular girls in school, mostly because they commanded the positions. Hikari supposed she should have felt honored that Miyuki deemed her pretty enough to join her little posse, but Hikari was in no mood to spend the year playing suck-up.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she interrupted, boldly, anger flashing in her eyes. "I don't take well to people who speak rudely of others because they're jealous of their abilities." Miyuki stopped talking and gaped at her, surprised. In an instant, her astonishment faded into something else. There was no mistaking the look in her eyes.

_Venom._

Pure venom.

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to _pandabear24_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _puasluoma_, _Makmay04_, _Aki Midoshi_, _Pebbles_, _Shire Folk_, _Final Genesis_, _SoV_, and _LiLTakariGirl aka Yami Aro_ for reviewing. I forgot how much I enjoy hearing from you guys.

**Pebbles:** I know, I know! I'm so sorry. I don't want to say I've lost interest. I hate it when other authors just decide to up and leave without finishing their stories, so I certainly don't want to do that either, but every time I sit down to work on it, my mind wanders onto other things. And I feel like it's so poorly written at the beginning. But I will try. No promises, but I will try.

**_Preview of chapter 3: Hikari tries to deal with the aftermath of blowing Miyuki off, Miyako formally makes the acquaintance of the eccentric Akari, and Taichi finally gets his rear over to visit his family, bringing his friends, Yamato, Sora, Mimi, and Hideki, along for the ride._**

Get excited!


	3. Chapter 3: A Model Situation

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Edited: Saturday, May 15, 2010

**_In the previous chapter:__ Hikari made the swim team with the fourth best time in the tryouts. At the same time, Hikari formally meets Yumi and puts to use some timely advice she received from Miyako to put Miyuki in her place._**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 3:

**A Model Situation**

**

* * *

**

Hikari suddenly felt she would have been better off dead than continuing to school. Her heart filled with fear. She almost glanced at Takeru to see if he thought she was done for too, but changed her mind in case Miyuki choose that moment to attack. Hikari wanted to think that Takeru would help her if Miyuki started clawing her eyes out—his eyes had told her as much the other day—but the boy who stood before her now seemed like a drone, barely capable of original thoughts, much less original action. He wouldn't lift a finger. Sigh. She was doomed.

But wait! Girls like Miyuki could smell fear. Hikari must have reeked of it. If looks could kill, Hikari would've been on her way to the morgue. Fortunately, they couldn't.

Taking a moment, Hikari dropped her gaze and collected her wits. She'd already given Miyuki the upper hand—the brunette thought Hikari feared her. Furthermore, she couldn't count on backup from Takeru. If worse came to worse, she could hold her own for a while and then flee. She had no doubt she that couldn't outrun Miyuki. When she raised her head, Miyuki looked taken aback. Hikari felt different. Confident. She didn't need Angela to show up a spoiled brat (though her presence would have been appreciated).

Hikari smiled, and watched giddily as Miyuki's expression changed. She'd assumed Hikari would beg for forgiveness like everyone else, but now she had a challenge. Hikari spoke, her voice quivering as if she could barely contain her laughter. "But you know who you might ask… I hear Chieko's been dying to get in. I'm sure she might accept your invitation." Miyuki's jaw went slack. Chieko worshiped the ground Miyuki walked on. She shamelessly threw herself at Miyuki trying to get the Gossip Queen's attention. And she did this every day, nonstop. It was an understatement to classify the girl as desperate, because Hikari was certain if she kissed Miyuki's butt anymore, her head might disappear up there forever. Hikari mentally shook her head to clear the disturbing picture from her mind. "See you around!" she added cheerfully. With that she spun around and headed straight for the door of the school building, her heart pounding a million times a second. She could feel Miyuki's eyes drilling into the back of her head and practically hear the horrible things she knew Miyuki was now whispering harshly in Takeru's ear.

She brushed through the door to the building and let out a sigh of relief as she headed to her shoe locker and slipped out of her penny loafers.

"Good morning, Hikari," Minabe Asuka, the class representative, greeted her, opening her own locker next to Hikari's.

"Good morning," Hikari replied.

"You all right? You look at little pale," Asuka remarked, leaning down and putting on her indoor shoes.

"Me? Oh no. I'm fine. Thanks." _'Just signed my death warrant is all.'_

_

* * *

_

Hikari stared straight ahead, even though she felt several pairs of eyes boring into her skull, and beads of sweat trying to form. She forced herself to ignore the burning glares of unadulterated hatred from Miyuki's friends and pay attention to the lesson.

_'Remember: they can smell fear.'_

Miss Kinoki turned from the board, and placed her chalk on the desk beside her. "That ends the lesson," she said with a smile. Sighs of relief as notebooks slammed shut and kids began whispering amongst each other. Hikari added her own sigh to the mix. It was almost break. If she moved fast enough, she'd be able to escape the unvoiced threats she knew were being sent her way. She felt like she was roasting. Miss Kinoki adjusted her papers and shifted through them, evidently looking for something. Hikari glanced at the clock. _'Hmm, Math ended early today. I wonder who's in trouble.'_ Miss Kinoki's face lit up as she extracted a paper from the pile and ran her eyes down the page.

"All right, class," she began. "Attention please." Her voice was clear and sharp, like a military general's. Hikari felt certain had her teacher told the Earth to stop moving, it would have done so immediately. Though Miss Kinoki was not particularly spectacular in appearance—she was on the younger side of the spectrum with a petite and wispy body that looked as if it might blow away in the wind, short hair, nondescript brown eyes—her voice carried as if constantly magnified by a megaphone. No one double-crossed or back-talked to Miss Kinoki and got away with it. The class quieted and directed its full attention to the woman at the front of the classroom. "As I'm sure you're aware, the Sports Fest will occur in a little over a month. You may think it's too soon to start practicing, but it is important that we start as soon as possible. Our class has undergone some changes" (A couple of eyes glanced back at Hikari.) "over the summer and some bridges among us have been burned—or never built at all—" (Gazes shifted between Miyuki and Yumi, knowingly.) "along the way. For our class to be successful at this year's fest, we must have close ties like those of a family. We must feel as one. We must become a _team_. And we have a long way to go to get there. Thus, I thought we'd use announcement period and part of break to discuss sign up and practice strategy. I'll ask Minabe Asuka to come up and lead the discussion."

Asuka stood and strolled calmly to the front, her caramel-colored hair glistening as the light refracted off it. Everything about Asuka reminded Hikari of caramel, the girl's favorite sweet. It seemed as if she was always chewing on a square of the confection. As the class representative, Asuka held a commanding grace in front of her fellow students that nearly rivaled Miss Kinoki's. She was used to standing in that position at the front of the room. Miss Kinoki seated herself at her desk and looked at Asuka expectantly.

"Okay!" Asuka exclaimed after examining the paper Miss Kinoki left for her on the podium. She picked up the piece of chalk lying on the teacher's desk and began writing on the board. "There are twelve events this year: scavenger hunt, the cavalry battle, the three legged and wheelbarrow races, girls and boys 100 meter dash, girls and boys relay, girls and boys volleyball and basketball. Everyone has to participate in at least two events. Note that sign up is not set in stone until after school tomorrow. Our first practice will be Monday, September 8th. So, let's begin with volunteers for 100 meter dash…"

* * *

"Hey, Hikari. You want to go to Shibuya with me?" Miyako asked, popping out from behind a set of shoe lockers as Hikari rushed passed.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have plans with my brother this afternoon. Thanks for the invite though," Hikari replied, hurriedly. Pulling off her indoor shoes, she put back on her loafers and fumbled with her things a minute. Clearly distracted, she hastened to the door with Miyako close behind, regarding her curiously.

"You all right, Hikari?" Miyako asked.

"I'm fine, thanks. I'm late getting home is all," she said. A lie. Well, sort of. She was late to meet Taichi, but mostly, she wanted to leave school before Miyuki found her. The brunette had been out to get Hikari all day, and if she fell down one more flight of stairs because of Miyuki's foot, she was going to rip the girl's designer-clad appendage off. Something she wasn't feeling vicious enough to do at the moment.

"Well listen. I'll go with you." Hikari barely heard her; she was too busy checking out the over her friend's shoulder. Miyako reached out and clamped her hand down on Hikari's shoulder, focusing Hikari's attention on their conversation again. Hikari looked up at the lilac-haired girl a moment and finally shrugged.

"Just hurry, all right?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Miyako grabbed her stuff and followed Hikari out the door and down the steps. As they turned out of the gate and onto the street at a good run, Miyako spoke, "So why are you running away from Miyuki? Does it have anything to do with what I heard about this morning?"

"What did you hear this morning? And I'm not running from Miyuki."

"Oh, just that you refused to join her group and thereby humiliated her." Miyako added with a smile, "And you are definitely running from Miyuki."

"Where did you hear that?" Hikari panted as she took the steps to the subway train two at a time. "And I am not!"

"It's all over school, Hikari. How did you _not_ hear people talking about it? It's all that's been on anybody's lips today. And if you aren't running from her, why did you tear out of the school building like you were being chased by your adoring fan boys?"

"I already told you I'm late to meet my brother! Can we just drop this subject all ready?" Swiping her metro card, she pushed through the turnstile and rounded on Miyako as she pushed through behind her. "Why are you so interested in this?"

Miyako smirked as they walked to their platform and awaited the arrival of the train. "Look, Hikari. You have just picked a fight with biggest bully in school. You can't seriously expect to get through this without some major help."

"I didn't pick a fight with her," Hikari grumbled, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Did you do what she wanted you to do?" Miyako asked, crossing her arms as well. Hikari's silence was answer enough. "Then you picked a fight with her."

"This whole thing is your fault to begin with," Hikari suddenly said, uncrossing her arms and rounding on the older girl.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Their conversation was interrupted by the loud roar of wind that announced the arrival of the train. Shoving their way through the crowd, the girls boarded and fought their way to the back.

"I _mean_ if she hadn't insulted you, I wouldn't have had to defend you," Hikari answered as they plopped onto the not-so-comfortable seats.

"She insulted me, did she?" Miyako asked, puffing out her chest indignantly. A frown etched across her features. "What did she say? I'll—"

"That doesn't matter!" Hikari interrupted. "The point is I sacrificed my peaceful school experience for you. Everything is going to go up in flames now."

Silence settled over the two like a thick cloud. Miyako watched her friend stare out the window, mulling her last words over in her mind. "Say, Hikari," she began.

"Hmm?" Miyako didn't say anything, so Hikari turned her head to face her. "I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worrying about."

"No, but… this was going to happen sooner or later. You realize that, right? I don't want you to feel like your whole schooling experience has been ruined by this." Hikari didn't say anything. She just looked at the girl. "At some point, you were going to have to choose between Miyako and Yumi and make an enemy of one or even both of them, because neither of them likes anyone who steals their thunder, and baby, you are the rainstorm."

Hikari frowned in confusion and blinked several times. "The… the rainstorm?"

"Yeah, the rainstorm. As in, _you_ are the thunder!"

"Huh…. Okay..." Hikari said slowly, regarding Miyako suspiciously. She reached out and put her hand to Miyako's forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I feel great," Miyako replied with a grin. "Why?"

"You're talking nonsense. You can't be sane," Hikari responded. Miyako just laughed. The train began to slow as it pulled up to a platform. "This is my stop," Hikari said, standing. When the subway train had come to a complete stop, the friends followed the wave of people flowing off the train upstairs into the sun. Hikari turned and smiled at Miyako, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow an—"

"No! You can't just leave me," Miyako protested. "I followed you all the way out here. This was completely out of my way."

"Well it's not like I _asked _you to come! I told you I was in a hurry."

Miyako grabbed Hikari's arm and gave her a pleading look. "No way, Hikari. Come on. Look, I just texted my friend, she's coming this way. Will you just wait with me until then? I don't want to stand here by myself looking stupid." Hikari took a deep breath and flared her nostrils at the lilac-haired girl but acquiesced grudgingly.

"Fine."

"Thank you!" Miyako grabbed her in a hug and swung her roughly from side-to-side. Needless to say, the brunette was completely caught off guard. Jeez. If this was the way Miyako showed appreciation, Hikari would have to remember to do less things for her in the future. "Say," Miyako said, releasing Hikari from her iron grip. "I see an ice cream parlor down the street. You wanna get some ice cream?"

What Hikari wanted to do was stay miffed at her (already difficult after having been flung about like a rag doll—she'd felt ridiculous and people were still staring), but when Miyako mentioned ice cream, the brunette's stomach growled greedily and her resolve all but evaporated. She had a hard time staying mad with her stomach begging for attention. Five minutes later, Hikari and Miyako were seating themselves on a wall, each holding a cone.

"This stuff is good," Miyako said, her eyes wide with wonderment. Hikari merely nodded, unwilling to take her tongue away from the cold treat long enough to speak a reply. It was too tasty. They sat a while, waiting, smacking loudly on their ice cream.

Finally, Hikari spoke up, "When did your friend say she was coming again?"

"She should have been here by now. I'm sure she'll show any minute." At that exact moment, a jaunty tune exploded from Miyako's bag. Digging inside of it, she pulled out her cell phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

Hikari scoped the street. Miyako was probably talking to her right now.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Miyako practically yelled. "No! I don't care if he's cute. You promised!"

Yep. Miyako was definitely talking to her.

"Ah. Okay. Well, I'm glad to know that some strange boy you just met means more to you than your best friend. Yeah, uh-huh, whatever." She ripped the phone away from her ear and slammed it shut without saying goodbye. Miyako's friend had still been talking when she hung up.

"Ditched you, huh?" Hikari asked, feeling the need to state the obvious.

"Yes. I can't believe her! I can't go to Shibuya by myself! Mom would freak if she knew," Miyako sighed. "There was a sale at HMV that I wanted to go to." Sullenly, she let her head sink into her hands. Hikari reached out and put her arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Can you not go tomorrow?" she asked. She felt sorry for Miyako. If she hadn't promised Taichi her time this afternoon, Hikari gladly would have accompanied her.

"No. The sale ends today. And we have swim practice tomorrow anyway. There wouldn't be enough time for me to make it there and back before dinner."

"Oh." Hikari searched her brain for something comforting to say, but she drew a blank. She knew the feeling of disappointment Miyako was experiencing. Hikari almost called Taichi to ask if they could reschedule, but he'd told her when he'd phoned her that morning that his ad project was due on Monday, and Yamato needed enough time to make the edits. "And there's no way you can go alone and just hurry?"

"No," Miyako sighed heavily. "My mom advocates the buddy system for just about everything. She's more iffy about it for things in town, but for a trip to Shibuya—definitely!" There was a moment of silence as Hikari awkwardly looked around the station plaza. She wished she could say something other than sorry.

"I can't believe she ditched me like that," Miyako spoke up. "I mean, there is a line to what you can expect your friends to forgive, and she just totally crossed it. She could have just given the guy her phone number. It's her fault that I can't get my CDs now." Miyako took a deep breath and let the air out as a growl, "UGGHH. I could just kill her. Smother her with a—"

"I'll go with you," a masculine voice interjected.

"Huh?" The two girls looked up and were surprised to see Akari staring down at them.

"Izanagi Akari," he said. "And I'll go with you to Shibuya." The two girls stared at him, mouths agape, unable to say anything. Though he was still in his school uniform, he'd somehow managed to turn the prim outfit into something that looked somewhat stylish. The collar of his green blazer was popped, and his tie was loosened just enough to allow him to unbutton the top two buttons of his untucked shirt, allowing anyone who cared to look a peak of his collarbone and upper chest. A silver ring glinted on his thumb. The girls, however, were unable to focus the details of his clothes for any length of time because his hair was simply too distracting. His side-swept bangs, which sliced across the right side of his face, obscuring one clear green eye, were the most normal part of the style. The rest of his hair was spiked up and out in various directions, reminding Hikari of a character from a video game she'd once seen Tai playing.

It was amazing to Hikari that he could walk around dressed as he was without feeling at least a little self-conscious or out of place. What's more, he made it work. How on earth had he managed to make it through the school day dressed so unusually?

"Uh…" Miyako replied, intelligently.

"How did you get here?" Hikari asked.

Akari frowned, slightly confused. "I… walked. How did you get here?"

"No, I mean, isn't Miyuki with you? Didn't you guys have plans this afternoon?"

"Ah, I think you're confusing me with her royal lap dog, Takeru," Akari replied, an unassuming smile crossing his lip, though Hikari thought she detected a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "I don't hang out with Miyuki when Takeru's not around."

"A wise choice," Miyako grumbled, looking away slightly. Akari's smile widened.

"Probably because you don't like being told what to do, right?" Hikari chuckled. Almost instantly she realized what she'd said, gasping as her hand flew to her mouth. She was about to backpedal like crazy. "Oh god. I'm sorry. It just slipped out. I didn't mean anything by it. I just heard… from other people, and I…"

Akari laughed. "I guess you could say she's a bit too controlling for my tastes. I never expected you'd be a gossip girl though. I heard what happened between you and Miyuki." _'Jeez, his grin just keeps getting wider,'_ Hikari thought as her heart jumped into her throat.

"You did?" she croaked out. Nervously, she tucked a chuck of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. Congratulations. Not every girl can put Miyuki in her place like that and live to tell the tale," Akari replied, licking his lips.

Hikari turned away grumbling, "I don't think I'll keep that distinction much longer. I sense my life is quickly coming to an end." She raked a hand through her hair to return her tousled locks back into place.

He chuckled. "Anyway, I heard you say your Mom wouldn't be pleased if you went to Shibuya alone. If you're interested, I'll go with you. It's not out of my way or anything, and there are a couple CDs I'd like to get as well." Miyako pondered this information.

Hikari stood. "I think you should go with him, Miyako. He says it's not out of his way, and now you don't miss your sale."

"Well, I…" Miyako hesitated.

"Great." Hikari grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "Call me and tell me what you get! I've got to go. See ya later!" she added and took off down the street.

"Wait—Hikari. HIKARI!"

* * *

"I'm home!" Hikari yelled. "Sorry I'm late!" Kicking off her shoes and sliding on her slippers, she hurried into the living room. "Tai?" No answer. Frowning, she stepped further into the room and looked around. "Tai?"

"Oh!" a voice exclaimed from the hallway that led to her father's study and the family room. Hikari's head snapped around. It belonged to a girl with long light brown, almost blonde, hair and clear light brown eyes. She looked like she'd just walked out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Immaculately clean and put together, she was wearing a cotton strapless sundress that hugged her hips and then flared, stopping mid-thigh with brown sandals. Her arms were adorned with an assortment of bangles and a ring with a purple stone inset in the band. Hikari took all this in, slowly, allowing her eyes to study the outfit before meeting the girl's gaze. "Are you… Are you Hikari?" the girl asked.

"Yes. Who are you?"

A smile broke out across her face. "Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa. I haven't seen you since you were little. Girl! You've grown up so much. Come here." Before Hikari had a chance to fully process the situation, Mimi had pulled her into a tight hug and was rocking her back and forth. "You look gorgeous now. Oh! And here I thought I might actually have to do some work on you to make you look picture perfect. You're nearly there, and you aren't even wearing makeup. I am jealous."

Hikari could barely stammer out her gratitude at the compliments before Mimi was dragging her down the hall, through the family room, and out into the backyard where Taichi was running around the yard throwing a Frisbee with his friends. "Tai, you could have told me your sister was so pretty! I lugged my giant bag of cosmetics over here for nothing!" Mimi yelled, stomping towards him.

Taichi turned to face the girl addressing him, confusion evident on his face. When he saw Hikari, however, standing on the back porch looking lost, a large grin over took his features as everything clicked into place. "Kari!" he exclaimed, running towards her. "You should have known, Mimi," he continued, directing his attention to his upset friend. "She's related to me, after all. We Yagamis are an attractive lot."

He clamped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, swinging her around. (It seemed to be the trend for the day.) "Tai," she repeated, grinning back. "I'm glad you finally bought time out of your busy schedule to come see me. Where's mom?"

"She stepped out for a bit. Afternoon tea with friends or something like that," he replied. "She won't be back for a while. We're on our own for dinner. My friends and I were discussing whether we should go out or order pizza."

"I think we should go out!" a girl with red hair exclaimed. "Tai owes me dinner anyway."

"I agree!" Mimi piped up. "And for the permanent damage caused by his withholding information about his sister, I think he should pick up the tab too."

"I can't afford to feed you two. You guys eat too much," Taichi shot back, though his light voice showed his jovial manner. Both girls replied with mock anger and shock.

"Are you calling me fat, Yagami Taichi?" the red-head flared.

"I would never!" Taichi replied, feigning shock and hurt at the suggestion.

"You should start running, Tai," a deep voice interjected. "Last time you called her fat, she got you good with her shoe. You had that bruise above your eye for weeks." Hikari could tell from the sound of his voice that the boy talking was extremely handsome. She loved a good deep voice. Even more comforting, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Someone she'd known before she moved? Her thoughts were interrupted by Mimi's reply.

"Then make Yamato help you foot the bill."

"Oi, leave me out of this," the deep voice said again, his tone lightened by laughter. Oh yeah! Hikari'd been so busy watching the animated expressions of the two girls earlier that she'd totally forgotten to check out the owner of the voice. Now was her chance. She turned her heart beating eagerly in anticipation. She was not disappointed. In fact, it took all her willpower not to let her mouth flap open like an idiot. The boy had a tall, lithe figure, and was dressed to the nines in slim black pants, a deep blue sleeveless turtleneck, and a deep gray, short sleeved pulled over. The dark outfit made his long, floppy blond hair and his deep ocean blue eyes even more striking. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah," Taichi replied, waving it off. "Guys, this is my little sister, Hikari. Let's see, Hikari, you've already met Mimi; the other girl is Sora, and the blond loser over there is Yamato, and the guy beside him is Hideki, the photographer." Her eyes landed on the light-haired boy she hadn't noticed before. He appeared fairly average—the epitome of forgettable with light brown hair, green eyes, and a typical college boy outfit: light wash jeans and an olive green t-shirt. Plus, he clearly had a quiet and laid-back demeanor that made it easy for people to overlook him, especially when surrounded by such strong personalities such as Taichi and Mimi. He was the proverbial wallflower. Nothing about him was unorthodox. Still, Hikari could tell he had a certain charm to him. She smiled, and he gave a little wave.

"Loser? Please, if I was any cooler, I'd be an ice cube," Yamato scoffed.

"If your comebacks were any cheesier, we'd be able to eat them with crackers. Now hush."

Hideki shook his head and added, "He's right, man." Taichi, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Hikari, his eyes shining. "What do you want to do?"

Hikari considered this a moment and then replied, "Let's go out. The least you could do after taking so long to come see me is buy me dinner."

Mimi hooted with laughter. "She set you straight, Tai!" she whooped.

Hikari flashed an angelic smile. "Now let's get started, shall we?" Yamato, Mimi, and Sora all jogged toward the siblings, talking amongst each other and laughing. Yamato dropped into a chair, while Mimi went and began sifting through a giant bag sitting on the table. Sora disappeared into the house and returned a moment later holding up a set of clothes on a hanger: a newsboy cap hanging on the hook, a lightweight, coral scarf wrapped around the neck, a white tank top, and a pair of jeans draped over the lower bar.

"I thought this ring might make a nice accessory too," Sora replied, slipping the hook of the hanger through the ring.

"Come. Sit," Mimi ordered. Without looking away from her bag, she used one hand to pat the tall bar stool beside her. Hikari did as she was told, waiting patiently while Mimi finished rubbing through her stuff. "Hmm… Sora's outfit is super relaxed, so something that looks pretty natural is the best choice. Your skin's pretty good, so this shouldn't take too long. All right." Mimi turned around and got to work.

* * *

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I'm doomed, Angie. I crossed one of the most popular girls in school today._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Who?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Miyuki. Takeru's girlfriend. She's like Alexandria_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Takeru…?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Takeru. The guy I bumped into after school yesterday. I told you about him, didn't I?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oh, yeah. On your way to swim practice. Goodness. All these Japanese names sound the same. I can't keep up._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ But, okay. Tell me what happened._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ She insulted Miyako and then asked to be friends. I totally palmed her._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You told her to talk to your hand?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Not out loud, but basically. She wants to kill me~_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Well, it was nice knowing you, K. I'll miss you. :)_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Angela._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I'm kidding. Don't worry about her, K. Your new friends will support you. Girls like her need to be put in their place. They don't own the school. Other kids no doubt feel the same way. It'll work out._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I guess. _

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ We had Sports Fest sign up today._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ The Sports Fest is like Field Day at St. Claire's._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Ah. Cool! What'd you sign up for?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ 100 meter dash and the girls relay._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You will dominate both of those events, of course._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I suppose. How's school?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Well, speaking of spoiled, drama-queens, A was strutting around the cafeteria today acting like she owned the place, as usual. She stopped by our lunch table (you remember it right?) to say a couple snide remarks about you, so Miranda dumped her grape soda down A's new Chanel blouse in your honor._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Hahaha! Grape soda. Good to know Miranda hasn't forgotten me. _

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Miranda? Never. You know she's not one for computers. Can't figure out how to use them for the life of her. She's all over her phone though. She got a new one. I wonder if she knows she's got messenger on her phone…_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yeah, probably not. Haha. I miss her. How is Miranda doing anyway?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Well, she misses you too. She's pining like crazy. After Alex left, she spent the whole lunch period moaning about you. She sounds like a seahorse that's lost its spouse._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Haha. Poor M._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Say, shouldn't you be going to school?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Yeah, but Miranda and I are cutting first period to go get a manicure, like we all used to do together. She says it'll make her feel better. I doubt it. She hasn't been sent to Headmaster Thomas at all since school started. Quite a feat for her._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Wow, that doesn't sound like her at all. Well tell her I said hi. I guess I'll go. I've got some homework and mental preparation to do for tomorrow._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hey._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ ?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ If what's-her-face kills you, can I have your shoes?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ …_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Your concern for my well-being is simply astounding, Angela._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ :)_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ See you around. _

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Bye._

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to _Shire Folk_, _LiLTakariGirl aka Yami Aro_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _Pebbles_, _Final Genesis_, _Takerus Lost Angel_, and _pandabear24_.

**Pebbles: **Haha. Well, yes. My brain is in a million different places at once right now though. As soon as I get some of this stuff off my mind, hopefully I can start looking at TTTA again. I look forward to that longer review! -waggles eyebrows-

**LiLTakariGirl aka Yami Aro: **You're typing nonsense? I just typed several paragraphs worth of nonsense (my author's notes). Yes, you see correctly, though, I may throw a couple others in, just for good measure. As far Hikari's screenname goes, I choose "ShoeBunny91" because I could not think of anything better, _and_, for some reason, Hikari strikes me as the type of girl whose favorite article of clothing would be shoes—shoes because you can pick shocking colors without being seen as totally outrageous or crazy. It's a nice outlet for, what I perceive to be, a shy personality. The 91 is just from her year of birth, I guess? Random numbers, really.

**Shire Folk:** Yes, I'm going to _try_. Lots on my mind. And I did get your messages about it. I never _really_ forgot about it. It was mostly finding the time and inspiration to continue.

_**Preview of chapter 4:**__ Takeru looks forward to a normal weekend—his first in ages!—sleeping, hanging out with his friends, and more sleeping. However, catching a glimpse of Hikari at swimming practice leaves him in a weird mood that takes his weekend in the opposite direction, and eventually leads him straight to an unexpected doorstep: his brother's._

It's coming soon!


	4. Chapter 4: Reveries of Forever

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Edited: Tuesday, December 21, 2010

_**In the previous chapter:** Hikari got a glimpse of what life will be like post-palming Miyuki, and she's already sick of it. Fortunately, Miyako managed to cheer her up before she and Akari headed to Shibuya to buy CDs, and Hikari headed home where she finally got to see her brother, Taichi, and meet his friends, Sora, Mimi, Yamato, and Hideki._

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon. Blah, blah, blah. I do own the Hershey's Factory though. (I wish.)

This chapter was inspired by the song **"Hide and Seek"** by **Imogen Heap**. The bolded lyrics featured during Takeru's dream sequence are taken from this song, which I also do not own. Enjoy the chapter!

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 4:

**Reveries of Forever

* * *

**

Mercifully, Takeru did not have to stay and watch clumsy underclassmen stagger around the gym. Instead, he headed home. By himself. It was the first time he'd been alone after school in a long time. 'Course, it wouldn't last. He'd invited his friends to come over to play video games. Still, for the time being, he had space to think.

He hurried home, eager to beat the rain, and made it successfully into the house just as the first drops began to fall. He took off his shoes, and ran a hand through his hair while untying his tie with the other.

"Mom?" he called, stepping into the front hall of the apartment. He was met by silence. His mom wasn't home. She was never home when he got in from school. Sometimes, she wasn't home until late in the evening. When he was younger, he used to wonder what she spent all her time doing when she was away from the house. _'She was a journalist. A journalist! Couldn't she do that at home with a journal?'_ he used to think. Now that he was older, he understood: journalists did a lot more than sit around and write in diaries. He yanked the tie from around his neck and began unbuttoning his shirt as he strolled into his room. He stripped off his school clothes and carelessly tossed them aside. He wouldn't have to touch those for two days. Inwardly, he celebrated as he rooted through his closet looking for a good relaxation outfit.

Though, he did need to wash his uniform.

He stopped rooting a moment, thinking about his new assignment. _'Darn it, Takeru. Can't leave well enough alone.'_ He _would_ give himself a reason to touch those stiff clothes again. He'd do it now. Hurriedly, her pulled out a pair of cargo shorts, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a belt, putting each piece on in turn. The clothes were loose on him. Everything was loose on him. Though his body was definitely in shape—his six-pack (and Miyuki) would attest to that—he felt strange about wearing tight clothes that accentuated his lean figure. As if wearing such clothes was akin to flaunting his good fortune at being naturally good looking. He didn't want to seem conceited. He looped the belt through his pants and fastened it, before grabbing his laundry basket and uniform off the bed and trotting down the hall to the washing machine located in a shallow closet by the bathroom. These clothes needed washing anyway, and he only liked doing laundry once every couple weeks. After dumping his clothes in and starting the machine, he headed back into the living room.

"Let's see," he mumbled to himself, glancing at the clock. "The guys won't be here until six. I've got like half an hour to kill." He collapsed on the couch and picked up the remote control. "Guess I'll see what's on TV." The TV flicked to life and he began to scroll through the channels. "Boring. Boring. Stupid. News. Lame. This looks interesting." He paused on a cartoon showcasing creatures protecting their human partners with an assortment of colorful attacks as they fought off other, menacing creatures. He watched a minute and frowned. _'Is this the latest season of Pokémon?'_

"Ice beam!" one of the creatures yelled, opening its mouth and letting a blue beam fire from its mouth towards the advancing enemy.

"That's the way, Geemon!" a blond boy yelped, pumping his fist in the air. Takeru smirked. Geemon. The channel changed as he resumed his channel surfing. Unfortunately, five minutes later, Takeru found himself staring at the wolf-like creature and his partner again. Nothing good was on.

Takeru wasn't sure when he fell asleep (he figured God had looked down and felt pity for the blond suffering from boredom on the couch), but he was thankful, and woke to the sound of someone pounding on his front door and his cell phone blaring music. His friends must have arrived.

Reaching out, he snatched his phone off the table and answered it with a barely coherent word, " 'Lo?"

"TK! Where are you? We're outside!" Toshi exclaimed. Takeru winced and pulled his phone away from his ear. Did Toshi always talk that loud?

"Bederinaminute," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I said 'I'll be there in a minute.'" He enunciated each syllable carefully to ensure Toshi would have no problems understanding him.

"Hmm. Aight!" Toshi hung up and Takeru let his head fall back onto the couch pillow. His eyes closed and opened slowly. He wanted to go back to sleep. If it wasn't for the incessant pounding on his door, he might have succeeded in doing just that. Groaning, he pushed off the couch, splashed some water on his face from the sink in the kitchen, and headed to the front door to let his pals in.

"TK! What took you so long?" Toshi practically yelled as he bounced into the apartment. "WHOO!" Takeru watched him go into the living room and then turned back to the others, a mix of horror and confusion etched across his face.

Ryuji shrugged. "You guess is as good as ours."

"I think he had an energy drink," Akari replied as he loped into the entry hall with the others. He was wearing a sweatband, and had it pushed back so that it restrained his jet-black hair. Or tried to restrain, anyway. Akari's hair was long, and spilled over the sweatband like ink, curving down towards his face. To ensure the most outrageous look possible, he'd gelled the back of his hair so it spiked up and out, fanning like a peacock's tail. His hands were buried in his pockets, his shoulders slumped. Despite his position, Takeru could clearly see what his friend was wearing and could not take his eyes away from it.

"Akari."

"Hmm?"

"What are you wearing?"

The teenage boy straightened, allowing his tight black long-sleeve shirt to fall back in place. It buttoned only halfway down his torso and then stopped, baring his flat, muscled stomach for the whole world to see. The shirt flaps stretched to mid-thigh, making the shirt look like a jacket or coat. His legs were encased by a pair of skin-tight khaki pants, and though a belt encircled his waist, it did not hold up his pants. Rather, it hung off his hip uselessly, and crossed his body at a diagonal, drawing even more attention to his naked abdomen and making him appear even slimmer.

"What?" Takeru stared at him. "Oh this?" he asked, removing his hand from his pocket and pulling at the shirt. "Fumi thought it would look good on me. She bought it for me yesterday," he shrugged, returning his hand to his pocket, and then continued into the living room. Takeru turned to look at Ryuji and Daisuke. He appeared lost.

"Don't ask," Ryuji sighed, shaking his head. Takeru wanted to, but merely shut the door and headed into the living room with his two remaining companions. What was wrong with his friends?

"So, what do you guys want to play?" Takeru asked, opening the cabinet that held his game systems and video games. "We got Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Wii Sports…" He listed off a couple more options, but the boys weren't listening. They were exchanging glances, sizing each other up.

"Wii Sports!" they interrupted him.

"In teams," Ryuji added as Takeru placed the game into the console and began throwing Wii remotes to his guests.

"Hmm… what do you say about Ryuji and Takeru versus me and Daisuke," Toshi asked.

"What game?" Takeru asked, sitting on the couch and navigating through the menu.

"Tennis," Daisuke piped up. Akari, meanwhile, perfectly content to watch, seated himself in a cushy chair where he would not be in harm's way.

"Hey, before we start, help me move this table. Mom'll kill me if anything in here gets broken, and I know you buffoons will crash into anything within a five foot radius of your bodies," Takeru chided as he carefully removed his mother's vases, lamps, books, and decorative candy bowls and put them on the kitchen counter. Toshi and Ryuji each grabbed an end of the table and moved it effortlessly to the wall, where it would be out of harm's way.

Dusting off his hands, Takeru rejoined his buddies and picked up his Wii remote, securing it to his arm. "Okay, you fools. Let's go."

* * *

After about 45 minutes of intense non-stop playing, the boys had begun to complain about hunger. Unhappy with the selection in Takeru's fridge, they'd decided to split the cost of a couple of pizzas. Twenty minutes later, they kicked Takeru and Daisuke out to go pick up the food.

"I'm telling you, TK. She can't stop thinking about me," Daisuke bragged as he and Takeru walked down the street.

Takeru looked at Daisuke with a bemused expression on his face. "Oh really? Do you guys talk on the phone every night?"

Daisuke frowned. "No. But I catch her looking at me with those beautiful red eyes all the time in class. I can tell that her heart longs for me. Dare I say that I've already won our little bet?"

Takeru laughed. "I wouldn't declare victory just yet. Look, there she is." He raised a hand and pointed at two girls strolling down the street towards them. One of them was Hikari, the other was a tall, beautiful, red-head girl, who Takeru vaguely recognized. Hikari appeared to be relating a story to her friend. As she concluded, the two girls burst into laughter. Takeru grunted as his stomach cramped painfully.

Daisuke didn't notice the barely audible sound his friend had made or that the blond had grabbed his stomach and doubled over slightly. The brunet grinned. "Watch and learn, small pint." Pushing Takeru to the side, he walked forward confidently and smiled. "Hikari!"

She stopped laughing and turned to him. Her thousand-watt smile faded as she stared at him, the wheels in her mind turning. Her mouth hung open slightly as she squinted her eyes, as if doing so would help her think of his name. After a minute, a shy, somewhat hesitant and apologetic smile crossed her face. "D-Dai…chi?"

A laugh caught in Takeru's throat. Instead of letting it out like he wanted to, he smiled at them, his shoulders shaking only slightly. Daisuke stared at her in silence a moment, clearly caught off guard by her response. "I'm sorry?" he said finally.

"I'm sorry, I don't recall… What was your name again?"

"Daisuke. It's Daisuke," he mumbled, looking slightly crestfallen.

Hikari's face went a bit pink with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Daisuke. So many names and faces. But I remember you. Yes. We saw each other the other day in Iris."

"Iris? Isn't that a cosmetics store?" Takeru asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah. He was buying makeup for his girlfri—"

"Sister!" he exclaimed, cutting her off. "For my sister. I'm single, no girlfriend." He chuckled awkwardly. "And yes, that was me." Takeru could barely contain his laughter. This was just too much. Daisuke in a cosmetics store buying makeup for his _sister_? Yeah, and Takeru moonlighted as Superman.

"Yeah, your sister. Did she like the eye shadow shades we picked out for her?" Hikari asked, her eyes shining. She watched him carefully, genuinely interested in his response.

Daisuke's cheeks reddened. "Yeah. She loved them."

"That's wonderful!" Hikari exclaimed. "I'm so glad." The red-head beside the brunette cleared her throat, causing the shorter girl to jump. "Oh! I'm sorry. Forgive my rudeness; this is my friend, Sora."

Sora smiled and nodded her head at both of them. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Daisuke said.

Sora. Takeru's ears perked up. The name rung a bell. He studied her a moment and then suddenly it clicked. Takeru studied Sora. She'd changed a lot since he'd last seen her. "We've met before," Takeru answered, smiling. "It's nice to see you again, Sora."

"Likewise, Takeru," she replied.

"Well that's just great!" Hikari exclaimed clasping her hands together. They all exchanged looks as they stood together in silence, the hustle and bustle of Friday night activity continuing around them. "Um… well, we've got to go. I'll see you at school on Monday."

"Yeah," Takeru replied. "Have a good weekend."

"You too." They watched the two girls disappear into the crowd, chatting and laughing again as if they'd never been interrupted.

"Clearly she hasn't been able to get you out of her mind, Daisuke," Takeru broke the silence, laughing.

"Shut up," Daisuke replied, turning away from his blond friend. His face flushed a lovely shade of cherry red.

"And your meeting at Iris must have been fated. Not like you were stalking her or anything," Takeru continued as they started down the street again.

"Shut up."

"I mean really, Daisuke. You don't even like your sister. Why would you be buying her makeup? It sounds to me like you just used it as an excuse to get Hikari to talk to you."

"As much as I like to pretend Jun doesn't exist, it was her birthday. I couldn't just _not _get her something. So I went to Iris and Hikari helped me pick out a gift." Daisuke shoved his hand in his pockets, dejected that Hikari had not remembered him.

"Ah. Yes. And I can tell those long hours spent together after school paid off. She knows you like the back of her hand," Takeru chuckled.

"Shut up!" But Takeru couldn't hear his friend's angry exclamation. He was too busy hooting with laughter. What a great story to tell the guys when he got back home!

* * *

After two more hours of competitive Wii tennis playing, Takeru and his friends collapsed onto the furniture and flicked beads of sweat off their foreheads. "Well," Ryuji sighed as if he'd just run a marathon without breaking a sweat. "It was fun beating you guys." His friends grumbled. "Yep. Sometimes, you just can't help but lose."

"Oh, shut up," Toshi replied. Ryuji and Takeru laughed and pounded their fists together.

Akari grinned. "Upset that you came in last, Toshi?" he asked. Takeru and Ryuji had dominated the teams' bracket, but Akari had beaten them both in individuals. Toshi didn't respond. Instead, he made a face and turned away, crossing his arms.

"Don't cry to Mommy, Tosh," Ryuji said, looking at the boy with a mix of annoyance and indifference. Toshi ignored him, however. The boys were spared Toshi's dramatics when Daisuke's phone began to vibrate.

"Hey, g5 is playing in an open air concert in Hitsubiki Park!" Daisuke shooting straight up. The boys perked up at the mention of g5, an up-and-coming band consisting of four amazingly hot girls, and whose front man had them convinced she was the hottest thing to hit Earth since the sun.

"g5?" Ryuji repeated. "What are we doing hanging around here then?" He pushed himself to his feet and started towards the door. "I want to see them. Anyone care to join me?" The other boys didn't need much cajoling. They practically bit each others' heads off to get through the door. "TK, you coming?"

Takeru considered it a moment. It was no secret that the lead singer made him drool and he thought the bassist had some of the most amazing legs he'd ever seen. But for whatever reason, he wasn't feel shallow enough to truly enjoy the show. "Nah, I'll pass," he said, standing up. "I think I'll just move the furniture back and maybe turn in a little early. I feel kinda tired."

Ryuji regarded him like he'd suddenly grown a second head. "You must be to turn down a free show featuring g5. I hope you feel better, man." He headed towards the hallway where Daisuke had just poked his head back in to yell at Ryuji to hurry up. Ryuji paused a moment, "Oh, and TK. You need to man up. No male ever turns down a show to see hot girls throw themselves around a stage, acting completely crazy to music because he's tired. I'll let it slide this time, but make sure it never happens again."

Takeru laughed. "Thanks, Ryuji. I appreciate it."

Ryuji clicked his tongue at his best friend, winked, and headed into the hall. "See ya."

"Bye. Oh, and Ryuji!" Takeru called after him. "Real men don't wink. Work on it."

Takeru heard the boy chuckle as he opened the door. "Oh, shove it, Takaishi." Takeru snickered as the door closed. He reassembled his mother's living room, turned off his game system, and put away the parts, and then dropped onto the couch and kicked his feet up. He stared at the ceiling, allowing his mind to replay the day's events. It was fairly normal day. He'd walked to school with his girlfriend, spent break and lunch with her, and then kissed her goodbye at the end of the day when she'd gone to Cheer. But _then_, Ryuji and Takeru had decided to cut across the grounds to reach the front gate from the cheer practice room. In the process, they'd passed the swimming pool.

Yes. They'd passed the swimming pool.

And they had seen her.

* * *

_The chain link fence rattled as my hand hooked on the metal. The sky was thick with dark clouds looming above us like oppressive shadows. The humidity was suffocating me. "I can't believe they're still out swimming," I said, glancing at the sky. The clouds looked like they'd burst open any second._

_ Ryuji stepped up beside me and rested his hand against the metal as well. The fence rattled again. "It's not raining yet," he shrugged. I cracked a smile. Ryuji was always like that, calm, reasonable, and logical—except when parties were involved. Then he became someone completely different. A stranger to his usual personality. Ryuji stared at the people trotting around the clear pool in skin tight bathing suits. His gaze remained steady, almost as if he were undressing them with his eyes, eager to see what they had to hide._

_I knew he wasn't, but that was Ryuji. His stare was always penetrating and uncomfortable for those unused to the piercing gaze. A slight breeze picked up as we watched a girl stride towards the diving blocks. Her body oozed confidence. I could tell she owned the water._

_ "Hey, isn't that Hikari?" Ryuji suddenly piped, poking his finger through the space between the chain links, pointing at the girl, as she now stepped up onto the block. She paused, her hand resting on the goggles that hung around her neck for a quick moment. Then, she pulled the eye protectors into place and tucked her brown hair carefully into her swim cap. Instantly, I flashed back to Wednesday afternoon, when I'd held her lithe figure in my arms. Her brown hair was the color of creamy milk chocolate. I imagined it was as silky smooth as her skin. My cheeks began to burn at the thought of our previous encounter. _

"_She's getting ready to swim!" Ryuji's voice brought me jarringly from my reverie._

_ Hikari knelt on the block, and pushed her rear into the air. Dread settled like rocks in my stomach, forcing a painful cramp. What was that? Nerves? Though it seemed unlikely, she _was_ against three other people. Perhaps I was just getting a bit needlessly competitive. What were they doing anyway? Speed trials?_

_ "READY!" I heard the coach yell. Another cramp. "SET! GO!" I gripped the fence and pulled myself against it, as if the close proximity would help me see the race better. She dived into the water like a tiger and tore through the blue liquid ferociously, splitting it effortlessly. My eyes were glued to her as she drew a bit ahead of her competitors._

'Faster,'_ I thought, urgently. _'Faster. Faster.' _She had to win. Nobody knew what to expect from her. She could outrun them all without breaking a sweat. She could become the new queen. Fumiko hadn't lied. Hikari was fast. Her arms arched and dipped into the water, her head snapped to the side as her mouth gaped open, sucking in air. Such power. Such grace. Such determination. She was like a cherry blossom tree. Wispy, wiry limbs that could withstand the elements, topped with, of course, the beautiful cherry blossoms. Behind her pretty face, I sensed a wealth of inner strength._

_Her hand tagged the wall, and she surfaced, gasping for air, but grinning at the same time as she lifted her goggles off her face, pulling herself out of the pool, water running down her body, dripping onto the ground._

_ She could win. She could become the new queen._

_ And strangely, I realized that I wanted her to. But become the new queen of what? A feeling of queasiness swept through my body. Why did I suddenly feel like I was betraying someone? I let go of the fence and turned away, distraught. "Let's go, Ryuji."_

_ Ryuji turned to me. "What?" he asked incredulously. "She was incredible! How can you want to leave? We could stay and watch another heat."_

_ I shuddered at the thought. If I stayed here any longer, I was going to lose my lunch. "I'm going home," I said, walking away. "See you in a little bit."

* * *

_

The cherry blossom.

He closed his eyes and took in a slow deep breath. The feeling of betrayal still haunted him. He just wanted to go to sleep and forget. He took in another deep breath and let it out slowly. Just as he was drifting off, a sharp knock on the door jolted his senses to full alert. His eyes snapped open and he glanced at the clock. 10:00. Who could be calling at this hour? His friends would be at the concert by now.

The knock came again and Takeru pushed himself off the couch and headed into the front hall. "Who is it?" he called, unlatching the door and pulling it open.

The sight in front of him caught him off guard. "It's me!" the girl standing at the door jam exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear.

"Miyuki," Takeru gasped in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe you'd like to take me out to a movie," she replied, stepping into the front hall and pushing the door shut behind her. "And maybe we could grab a bite to eat as well." She smiled up at him, and Takeru felt his heart speed up. She really was gorgeous. When she looked up at him through her lashes like that, Takeru felt the air leave his lungs. He wanted to stay home and sleep, but he couldn't say no.

"All right. Lemme grab my wallet," he said and headed into his room.

* * *

"That was an awesome movie!" Miyuki gushed as she exited the theater with her boyfriend. Takeru begged to differ, but said nothing. Instead, he stared up at the lights and blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to adjust. Takeru hadn't enjoyed the movie at all. Miyuki had dragged him to _John Tucker Must Die_. In other words, a chick flick. Was she _trying_ to emasculate him? Takeru's masculinity didn't feel any less threatened when he turned around and saw girl after girl after girl leaving the theater behind him, all chattering about the movies charm (and its charming leading man). "I completely identify with Kate," Miyuki continued, grabbing Takeru's arm and leaning against him. Her voice sounded like the whine of an animal faking injury. "We are like the same person."

_'You're nothing like Kate,'_ Takeru thought. _'Kate was a sincere girl who got caught up in trouble. _You_ probably would have come up with the plan to torture John and then executed it all by _yourself_.'_ He grimaced when he realized that he sadly knew the story of the film.

"A nobody who turned into a somebody after three girls, who weren't good enough for the hottie, got dumped and forced her to join them in their plan for revenge," Miyuki sighed. "Girls at school try to do that to me too." Takeru looked around for a trashcan into which he could hurl. Wasn't she the one typically bullying people to do her bidding? She'd completely tilted the movie and turned herself into some tragic heroine.

_'I don't think you were ever a nobody, Miyu. You would have died before sinking to that level,'_ Takeru thought. But… at least she had fun. She seemed to glow with enthusiasm as she cast her peers in various roles.

"And you are Scott," she said, tapping his nose gently with finger. "My knight in shining armor." She smiled widely at him, and snuggled her nose against his. Takeru was horrified. Next thing he knew, they'd be getting manicures together. He eyed the people walking around them, trying to make sure none of them saw him standing there, snuggling like a two-year-old with his girlfriend. He didn't know why the act embarrassed him, but it did.

"Miyu, stop it," he said, turning away. "People are watching." Miyuki was surprised at first. He'd just pushed her away! But when she saw the faint blush on his cheeks, visible only because they still stood in the theater's lighted complex, she couldn't help but smile. He was embarrassed. How cute!

"Oh snookems, you don't have to feel embarrassed about snuggling with me. I'm the hottest girl here. The guys'll forgive you." But would they? Takeru returned her smile with a watered down, less enthusiastic version. He wasn't so sure. Anyway, best to take his mind off it. "So, where do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Hmm… I'd kill for some Italian," she said, fluttering her eyes at him.

Takeru looked at his watch. "I don't think there will be any Italian restaurants open at this time of night, Miyu."

She sighed, melodramatically. "Then, I _guess_ I'll settle for a burger. But you owe me an Italian dinner."

"Sure," Takeru smiled, and they set off down the street. It didn't take them long to reach the burger place. They were seated, and soon after placed their orders.

Miyuki quickly fell back into her role casting. "The cheerleader would definitely be played by Miyako. She's full of herself and thinks she's amazing when she really is just _stupid_. Thinks she's good at sports when she _sucks_. And, she thinks she's pretty when she's _ugly_." Takeru winced. Personally, Takeru thought Miyuki would have fit that role better. For one, she actually was Cheer captain, and another, she was really pretty, and like the character in the movie, she thought that she had a right to the best player on the basketball team _because_ she was Cheer captain

"Yumi would be a good person to fill the role of that vapid girl. After all, Yumi's just a pretty face. A pretty face after spending hours in front of the mirror, of course," Miyuki added, smiling to herself. She rested her head in her hand, and sipped her shake, daintily. Of course Miyuki would never hand a true compliment to her archnemesis. It would always be a backwards—an insult disguised as a compliment. Miyuki continued, "She had a third eye today. Did you see it, Takeru? It was throbbing. I swear it was alive. If it wasn't so greasy, we could probably live on it when the Earth is destroyed by global warming."

Takeru didn't say anything. He just nodded, somewhat grossed out by the image of a pulsing, greasy pimple she'd just put in his head. He had seen Yumi today. And he knew that the pimple—did she even have one? He hadn't noticed—did not even remotely resemble Miyuki's description. Their food arrived and he just stared at it. He wasn't even hungry anymore. He supposed he could take it home for his mother.

"Hmm… now, who to cast for the smart, overachieving, artistic slut?" She tapped her finger against her cheek in wonder, really pondering her quandary.

Takeru swallowed roughly. That was more than just a little bit harsh. "I… I don't think that's a fair representation of her character," he mumbled, hoarsely.

"What?" Miyuki asked, leaning forward. "I didn't hear you."

"Carrie. She wasn't like that," Takeru replied. "Yeah, she was smart and artistic, and true she was an overachiever, but she wasn't a slut. Beth was closer to a slut than she was. Carrie was classy."

Miyuki snorted and scoffed. "Oh please. She probably spends her life holding her legs open. That's probably why her legs are so fat. They're bulging with muscle." She crinkled her nose and shuddered, ever so slightly.

"Where do you even get that?" Takeru asked. "There was no indication in the movie that she was like that at all."

"Takeru. I spend my life around girls like her. I know how they act. They're all the same. They pretend to be goody-goody, smarty-pants, but really, they'll bend over for anything that moves," Miyuki smirked knowingly.

Takeru's stomach cramped. He grunted and motioned to the waiter to get him a box and bring the check. As usual, Miyuki hadn't even touched her food. He dropped his hand beneath the table and rested it against his stomach, sighing. His masculinity was long gone.

"Ah!" Miyuki exclaimed, snapping her fingers suddenly. "I know the perfect person to play Carrie." Oh, Takeru really didn't want to hear it. He suspected she'd name Chieko, the poor girl who practically washed Miyuki's feet clean with her tongue, as Carrie, because Miyuki constantly told him the girl would sleep with every boy in school if Miyuki told her too. Personally, he didn't feel that was a good thing for Miyuki to brag about. He picked up his drink and gulped some down. "Yagami Hikari."

The liquid caught in his throat and spewed from his mouth. Miyuki looked at the puddle of soda beside her, her mouth curved downward in disgust. "Ew, Takeru!" she exclaimed, but he was too busy choking and coughing to reply.

"WHAT?" he finally gasped out, gripping the edge of the table in disbelief. "Yagami Hikari? Where do you get off with that one?"

Miyuki looked at him disinterested. "Takeru, please. She's from California, she clearly thinks she's better than anyone else, and she's a loser who has nothing better to do than kiss Yumi's bum and do homework. She gets perfects scores on like everything, and she loves all the attention she gets from all the guys. She's probably gonna get nailed by one this weekend." Takeru's stomach wretched slightly, and his brow furrowed deeper and deeper with each word she said.

"Miyuki! That's ridiculous! You're just mad that she didn't want to join your little posse!" he snapped suddenly.

Miyuki looked taken aback. She didn't say anything as her face contorted into several different expressions. She was trying to understand. "_Excuse me?_" she finally choked out.

"You heard me. Miyuki, you're being silly. The school does not have to be divided into people who support you and people who don't. You insulted her friend this morning and then expected her to fall down and kiss your feet? Why would she? You were so rude. Why do you always act like this?"

Miyuki's face turned bright red, and Takeru knew it was from anger. But whether she clutched the table to stabilize herself or to fling it at him remained a mystery. Her eyes narrowed. "Why do I always act like _what_?" she spat, daring him to answer her.

He was on thin ice, he could tell. But for once, he didn't care. "Like a jerk?" Takeru shot back.

Miyuki's mouth fell open. "_I'm_ a jerk? She's the jerk! I did nothing wrong, and she completely humiliated me."

"She didn't do anything except defend her friend! If you ever bothered to _really_ talk to her, you'd know that she's a nice person. A really nice person who has a genuine interest in the people around her." _'Which is definitely more than I can say for you right now.'_ He almost said she was like a cherry blossom tree, but decided it would make him sound a little strange, and perhaps give the impression he'd been thinking about her a lot. Which he hadn't.

"Are you standing up for her?" Miyuki seethed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," Takeru replied, standing up. "I'm outta here." He flung several bills on the table and stomped from the restaurant. He new she was going to be mad at him, but even though he knew he should, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

Miyuki sputtered as she watched him go. She stood up and called after him, "Takeru. Takeru!" He didn't even acknowledge her voice. Instead, he pushed through the restaurant door and let it slam shut behind him. She stared at the door in disbelief. Takeru had just yelled at her. He had just walked out in the middle of their date. He had just stood up for _her_. That self-centered, no-good, boyfriend-stealing whore. There was no end to the things Miyuki was feeling, but she could identify one above the others.

She felt angry. She felt sad. She felt confused. But most of all, Miyuki felt _betrayed_.

* * *

_He lay in complete darkness, his body feeling weightless. Where was he? Squinting into the darkness, he tossed his head from side to side, trying to see something—anything that might tell him where he was. Was he flying?_

_ He sat up. Or at least he thought he sat up, he couldn't tell. Staggering to his feet, he stood stark still, waiting for something to jump out of the shadows and maul him to death. Instead, a flash of light caught his eye, and he spun around to face it. A girl was standing there, glowing, her big red eyes shining with happiness as she smiled._

_ "Hikari?" he asked. His voice echoed into the darkness. The room he stood in must have been large and empty._

_ "Takeru," she said, walking toward him. He felt like he should say something, but nothing came to mind until she was standing right in front of him._ Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. _What was that noise? He turned his head in both directions again, tensing should he need to protect her from something. She stood on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down to her height as she embraced him. _Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump._ "Thank you."_

_ "For what?" he asked when she pulled away and looked at him. She nodded her head and stared over his shoulder until he turned around. A boy emerged from the black background, staring straight at him. Takeru peered at him, and then jerked back, surprised. "That's me." His clone's eyes were swimming with some unidentifiable emotion. Anguish, perhaps? Takeru frowned. Hikari thanked him for himself? "Hikari, wha—?" he began, but stopped when he turned around. Hikari was nowhere to be found._

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

_What was that noise! Takeru spun in a circle, desperate to find its source. His eyes landed on his unmoving companion. _Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump._ There was something in his chest. Takeru strained to see what it was. As he approached his look-alike, his breath caught in his throat. A hole. There was a hole in chest. Takeru could see his heart beating steadily. Takeru looked up at himself, his face the picture of confusion. "You too," the boy in front of him said. He looked down at his own chest and saw the same hole revealing his own heart._

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

_ "But why?" he asked. "I don't understand." But the boy did not answer. Instead, he stared over Takeru's shoulder, until the boy hesitantly turned around, afraid of what he might see. Another girl had appeared in the darkness, though her eyes were filled with sadness. "Miyuki." He glanced over his shoulder to see if his double had remained, but he too had disappeared._

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

_"Hey. What's that you've got in your hand?"_ _he asked his girlfriend. Whatever it was, it was pulsing in her grasp._ Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. _The noise sounded far away now. _

_**Mmm, whatcha say?**_

_**Mmm, that you only meant well?**_

_**Well, of course you did.**_

_Takeru looked down and panicked. "That's my heart!"_

_ "I know," Miyuki replied, giving him a small smile._

_ "Why did you take it?"_

_ "I didn't. You gave it to me. I have only the best hopes for it." She cupped it in her hands, and gazed down at it as a mother might gaze at her child._

_**Mmm, whatcha say?**_

_**Mmm, that it's all for the best.**_

_**Of course it is.**_

_ "But I need that," Takeru pleaded. He felt empty. He placed his hand to his chest. It felt hollow. "I can't… I can't feel anything."_

_ "It's for the best that you don't. Then you'll never leave me," Miyuki replied. "I love you, Takeru. I would never do anything to hurt you. I just want to protect us."_

_**Mmm, whatcha say?**_

_**Mmm, this is just what we need,**_

_**You decided this.**_

_ "No," Takeru gasped. "I don't… I don't want to be like this. I need it… I need it." He felt as if he should have been crying, as if maybe tears would get her to change her mind. But all he could do was contort his face to show the intense distress he felt at being separated from the organ that kept him alive. All his tears were beating in her hands._

_ "This is what we need, Takeru. No one will ever be able to take you away from me," Miyuki smiled. "Now we can be together forever."_

_**Mmm, whatcha say?**_

_**Hmm, what did she say?**_

_ "Forever?" Takeru asked._

_ Her smile warmed, as if she knew he was warming up to the idea himself. "Forever." The word echoed in the darkness as she faded from view. Unlike a normal echo, however, the word did not decrease in volume each time it repeated. It stayed strong, pounding against his skull, begging for entry._

_ He didn't understand. '_Forever? Forever is impossible,' _he thought. _'Mom and Dad couldn't last for forever…. Mom and Dad.' _Instantly, the wall of night in front of him flickered to life, as if it was a television, and he'd just hit the power button. It replayed several scenes of his early life: when his parents had been married, when the fighting started, and finally when they decided to divorce._

_ Divorce. Pain. Everything around him flashed, and filled with color. He turned around and saw he was standing in the park he passed everyday on his way to school. And there were two little blond boys playing in the grass. He'd stepped into a memory?_

_ "Come on, Takeru. We have to go home. It's almost dinner time," the taller of the two children said._

_ Yamato._

_ The younger Takeru poked out his lip. "I don't want to go home, Yamato. Mom and Dad are always mad at each other. And they fight."_

_ "Things happen like that sometimes, Takeru. It'll be okay," Yamato replied, though his own eyes betrayed his true feelings._

'He lied,' _Takeru realized in surprise. _'He knew it wasn't going to work out.' _Takeru wasn't sure why that shocked him like it did, but he'd always put stock in the fact that Yamato had trusted their marriage would work until the end. He'd always believed that Yamato had been just as stunned by their separation as he had. But Yamato had known all along._

_ "Oh. All right," the younger boy acquiesced and stood, brushing the dirt off his knees. Yamato started walking, stuffing his hand in his pockets. "Do you think we can get some ice cream on the way home?" Takeru yelled after his brother, running to catch up with him._

_ Yamato hesitated. "I dunno… Mom wouldn't like you eating before dinner."_

_ "Please? Please, please, please," Takeru begged._

_ "I don't think that's a good idea, little T. But we can get some tomorrow." That wasn't good enough. Takeru wanted some today! But Yamato just shook his head. Takeru pouted and pushed his lip out, intent on making sure Yamato knew Takeru was mad at him. As a result, he wasn't paying attention to the ground, so he tripped over crack in the sidewalk and skinned his knee. His mind didn't even register what had just happened until large tears welled up in his eyes and began to trek down his cheeks._

_ "Takeru!" Yamato rushed to his side. He wasn't bleeding, but it still hurt. But Yamato bent down and brushed his lips against Takeru's dirty knee. Takeru stopped crying, and sniffled, as Yamato smiled up at him. "Does it feel better?" Takeru nodded, rubbing his hand against his eye. Yamato's smile widened. "Good," he said, standing up. He bent down and helped Takeru to his feet, brushing off his knee. He led the shorter boy into a convience store bathroom and washed his knee. "You've been so strong. I bet that really hurt," Yamato said, sympathetically. Takeru nodded, sniffling. "How 'bout that ice cream now?"_

_ Takeru grinned widely. "Okay!" Yamato held his hand out and Takeru clasped it. Together, they began walking down the street, into a blinding white light._

_ "Wait!" the older Takeru exclaimed racing after the younger versions of himself and his brother. He wanted to see more. They'd really connected when they were younger, but now, he didn't really talk to his brother, much less _see_ him. But the white light enveloped him, and he found himself blinded by it.

* * *

_

Takeru woke up, bleary eyed as usual. He sat straight up, and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus them. Man, that sunlight was annoying, shining right in his face. His hair jutted from his head like dangerous spikes, ready to impale anything that came too close. He thought back to the dream he'd just waken from.

_'Yamato.'_

He studied the wall in wonder a moment and then threw back his covers and stumbled toward the closet. He hadn't seen his brother in a while. Perhaps it was time to pay him a visit. "Mom?" he yelled out in the off chance she might be home. "Mom?" Bah. Pulling on his pants and shirt, he shuffled out and down the hall. Maybe she was still sleeping, he thought as he poked his head into her room. The bed was still perfectly made up as it had been the night before. _'Or maybe she never came home.'_ Grumbling, Takeru slammed the door and headed into the kitchen for some breakfast. A single piece of paper was lying on the otherwise immaculately clean counter.

"A note?" he wondered aloud, picking it up.

_Takeru, _the note began, _Thank you for the burger last night. You are such a thoughtful son. I don't know what I would do without you. I truly appreciate you, and love you more than words can convey. Enjoy your Saturday. Love, Mom._

Takeru smiled and folded the note and placed it in his pocket. Sure he knew his mother loved him, but reassurance was always nice.

An hour later, Takeru stood outside his brother's apartment, pounding on the door. It wasn't that early. Yamato should have been up by now. The blond sighed and looked around, feeling slightly stupid. Maybe he should have called to make sure Yamato was going to be home. What if he'd stayed out late or if he'd spent the night somewhere else? Another thought dawned on him, filling him with terror. Or, even worse, what if he was here with a _girl_? Maybe that's what was taking him so long; he was trying to get dressed.

Takeru shuddered. Oh god. Why had he thought about that? Now he had all these disgusting images in his head. "Ugh. I need to leave." He turned and hurried down the hall just as he heard the door open behind him.

"Takeru?" a deep voice asked. He turned to see who had called him. Yamato had poked his head through the door and was now staring at his visitor.

"Yamato," Takeru replied. "What's up?"

"Not much. Did you need something?"

"No. I just stopped by. I thought we could hang out today, but if you're otherwise occupied, I'll go."

"No, no. Come in. I'm not busy at all," Yamato replied, stepping aside and holding the door open.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Takeru asked, entering the apartment and looking around. He hadn't visited this place in a while.

"Er, no. I was just… uh…"

"Yamato!" a feminine voice yelled from the depths of the apartment.

Oh god. A girl!

Takeru's face turned beet red as he turned to make a beeline for the door. How embarrassing would it be to meet the younger sibling on the morning after?

"Takeru, where are you going?" Yamato asked, clamping his hand onto Takeru's shoulder.

Takeru stammered, trying to cool the heat in his cheeks. "I didn't realize—I'll just go. It's awkward. I mean, I'm sure she's pretty, but meeting her now? I'm sorry."

Yamato stared at him as if Takeru had just asked him what the square root of 72,361 was. "Dude, what are you talking about?"

"Oh. Hey Takeru!" the feminine voice exclaimed from behind him. The younger boy glanced over his shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. Ah! Good. It was Sora, Yamato's roommate's girlfriend.

"Hey Sora," Takeru replied. "And I wasn't talking about anything, Yamato." He turned his attention back to the female standing at the end of the entrance hall. "How are you, Sora?"

"I'm good, thank you. And you? You're here kind of early," she said with a broad smile.

Takeru shrugged. "Yeah. I had a…" Hold up. Saying he'd had a dream about Yamato was not cool. Definitely creepy, definitely weird. _'Quick, Takeru. Think of something else!'_ "Akari, Ryuji, and them were over last night and we played some video games. Just reminded me of Yamato. I thought I'd stop by."

"Oh yeah? You wanna play some video games?" the older boy asked. Takeru shrugged and followed his older brother down the hall into the kitchen. "Lemme finish eating. Have you had anything?"

"Yeah, I ate at home," Takeru replied.

"All right. You want something to drink? Can I tempt you with a beer? If not, we've got milk, water, and orange juice," Yamato listed, studying the contents of the refrigerator.

"I'll take the beer."

"Good choice," Yamato grinned, pulling back clutching two beers in his right hand. He knocked the refrigerator door shut with his hip and handed one of the brown bottles to his younger sibling.

"Thanks," Takeru said, popping the lid off the bottle and putting it to his lips. He poured some of the amber liquid down his throats and licked his lips as he grabbed a seat beside his brother.

"Yamato," Sora chided from the doorway. "I can't believe you're drinking beer right now. It's ten-thirty in the morning."

Yamato shrugged. "Beer is beer. Getting drunk before noon is the real tragedy." He tipped his beer to the red-head and took a long gulp of it.

"But with _cereal_?" Sora asked, her nose crinkling.

He laughed. "Oh Sora. It's good. C'mere." He waved her over and offered her the bowl. She looked between the cornflakes and her blonde friend to see if he was serious. He merely smiled and shoveled several spoonfuls into his mouth and chewed happily, before washing it down with another swig of alcohol. "See? I did it. Go on."

Sora regarded him with disbelief one more time, but when all she saw was Yamato's encouraging smile, she leaned down and stuffed a large helping of cereal into her mouth and followed quickly with swallow of beer from Yamato's bottle.

"Hey, what's going on?" a new voice asked. Takeru glanced to the door where Yamato's roommate stood, his chocolate brown hair completely out of control as usual.

"Sora's trying our signature breakfast, Taichi," Yamato laughed, watching as Sora chewed and swallowed, her face scrunched up in distaste.

"Oh really?" Taichi asked, stepping into the room to lean on the counter. He grinned at Sora as well. "How do you like it?"

"Ah!" she gasped after swallowing the repulsive mixture. "That was disgusting! I can't believe you eat that every day." Her mouth frowned in revulsion. "Ugh, god. I think I'm gonna puke."

The two older boys just laughed. "It's an acquired taste, I guess," Taichi shrugged, grabbing his own brown bottle from the refrigerator. "Here, come have some juice to get the taste out of your mouth." Sora grunted, grabbed the juice carton from her boyfriend and poured the orange liquid into her mouth without a cup.

"Oh, becoming one of the boys, eh?" Yamato chuckled.

"No!" Sora exclaimed, repulsed. "I didn't let my lips touch the carton. You boys just lay your mouth on it and slobber all over the place. You don't eat things like beer and cereal for breakfast do you, Takeru?"

Takeru shook his head, an easy smile on his face. "No way. That just sounds gross."

"Ah. Because you haven't tried it yet," Taichi replied, waving Takeru's opinion aside. "You can't knock it 'til you've tried it."

"Well I've tried it, and I think you're both insane," Sora replied, definitively.

Takeru laughed as Yamato leaned across the counter and dumped what remained in his cereal bowl into the sink and flushed it down the drain with some water. "Have you been here long?" Takeru asked.

"Who me?" Sora asked, pointing at herself. Takeru nodded. "Nah. I just stopped by this morning to drop something off for Tai's sister. I'm on my way to a shopping date with Mimi." She glanced at the clock on the wall and snagged her purse off the counter. "A shopping date that I'm late for." She hugged Yamato and Takeru before smooching Taichi. "I'll catch you nasties later." She brushed some lint of the brunet's shirt, who smiled warmly at her in gratitude. Sora returned the expression of thanks, and headed out of the kitchen into the hall. "Bye guys! Remember! Drunk before noon is a tragedy!"

"Here, here!" Yamato yelled after her, raising his beer bottle.

"But before one o'clock is a different story!" Taichi chimed in, raising his bottle as well.

They heard the door open and Sora's voice one more time. "Ugh. Takeru, don't let your brother's bad habits rub off on you," she called, and the door shut behind her.

Yamato and Taichi eyed each other and shared a private smirk before leaning towards Takeru and tipping their bottles towards the middle. Takeru added his to the mix, and they clinked them together.

"Here, here," Yamato said again.

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to _Takerus Lost Angel_, _joeshen_, _Final Genesis_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _Shire Folk_, _Pebbles_, and _LiLTakariGirl aka YamiAro_ for reviewing.

**joeshen: **Well, yeah. But now he has this whole chapter to himself.

**Storyteller of dimensions: **This is well over 8,000 words long, and it's all from Takeru's point of view. Is that enough for you? :) And don't worry. They'll find out eventually. And thanks for the idea! I think I have a little something in mind, but I'm still mulling it over a bit.

**Shire Folk: **Sure. And thanks for the compliments. I like the instant messaging scenes too.

**Pebbles: **Haha. Yeah. Friendship is at its best when you lay claim to your friend's belongings should she or he meet an untimely demise. (Did that make any sense? I'm still picking the sleep snot out of my eyes.) I'm excited about Miyako and Akari as well. The only thing is, I worry if I'm getting his personality and his style and his appearance to come across the way I want it too. I hope so.

**LiLTakariGirl aka YamiAro: **Yeah, you did see that. e.e; That's so embarrassing! I can't believe I did that. I'll fix it ASAP. I seem to have a penchant for names beginning with 'M' because I keep coming up with more and using them and they all sound so similar. I also slipped up and used Matt twice when I meant to use Yamato. I don't know where my mind was when I wrote that chapter.

_**Preview of chapter 5:** Takeru tries to apologize to Miyuki, but she just ignores him to disastrous ends._

Look forward to it!


	5. Chapter 5: Making Up and Making Out Pt 1

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Edited: Wednesday, December 22, 2010

_**In the previous chapter: **Takeru, hoping for a nice, relaxing weekened, quickly found himself in hot water after sticking up for Hikari on his date with Miyuki. Encouraged by a strange dream, Takeru decided to reconnect with his brother, Yamato._

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I think I own Geemon though. :)

Enjoy Chapter 5 of All-American Girl.

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 5:

**Making Up and Making Out: Part 1

* * *

**

Fortunately, the rest of the weekend passed without incident. A miracle Takeru chalked up to the fact that he hadn't called Miyuki since their spat Friday night. She'd be fuming today at school, but he wagered a peaceful weekend would be worth it. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her feelings, but he just hadn't felt like putting up with bratty behavior. Trying to get her to forgive anything was like nails on a chalkboard. Annoying and painful.

"One fifty-three, sir," a feminine voice said, cutting into his thoughts.

"Huh?" he muttered, disoriented.

"The total comes to one dollar and fifty-three cents," the barista said again. Oh, right. He'd stepped in to buy a bagel on his way to school.

"Right, sorry," he sighed, shaking his head. He quickly fished the money out of his pocket and handed it to her, their hands brushing in the process. She blushed and smiled bashfully, coyly tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and looking at him through full lashes. He blinked a few seconds and smiled back, confused.

"So, um… how's the day been?" she asked, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.

"Uh," Takeru said in a half-gasp, half-chuckle. "Well, considering I just woke half an hour ago, I'd say it's been pretty good."

"Oh really?" she giggled, and twirled a strand of her hair. "I got up six this morning."

Takeru stared at her, and she peered back expectantly. She wanted him to say something in response. But what? He didn't care that she'd been awake for over two hours. He glanced down at his hands, hoping that when he looked up again, the barista would be going on about her business as usual. But instead, she was still fluttering her eyelashes at him. He laughed nervously. "Really?" he said, finally, checking over his shoulder to see if he could find an escape route.

"Yeah. To be honest, I really didn't want to come to work this morning. But now I'm glad I did." She fixed her eyes on his, giving what he interpreted to be a meaningful stare.

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm…uh… I'm glad. Can I get that bagel?"

"What? Oh, yeah, of course. Silly me. I forgot." She laughed as if she expected him to laugh along, but he didn't. Instead he stared directly at the bagel she was lifting and putting in a bag— "Forget the bag," Takeru interrupted suddenly. "I'll just take that. Thanks." He snatched the bagel from her hand and fled, trying to ignore the snickers coming from the people in line behind him.

"Come see me again. I work until five today!" she yelled after him, but he left the coffee shop as fast as his muscled legs would carry him.

* * *

"So I guess she thought a hand brush meant something, huh?" Ryuji said as he and Takeru walked down the hall towards the classroom. Takeru had just explained to his friend his unusual encounter at the café that morning.

"Guess so, but she was so weird. Way too clingy. We'd been standing in each other's presence two minutes, and she'd already put us in a relationship together. Creepy," he added in a slight singsong voice as he grumped into homeroom. The day had just begun, and he'd already been humiliated.

Ryuji dropped down into his seat and watched his friend huff around for a moment. "Oh come on, dude," he finally piped up. "So she thought a hand brush meant something. You're a good-looking guy. What girl _wouldn't_ want to be with you? Don't be a baby. Man up."

Takeru winced. He was acting a bit like a primadonna. Like Miyuki did if one too many guys hit on her while the two of them were on a date. The blond leaned on his desk heavily and sighed. "Yeah, but I just don't like it when people make a big deal about my appearance."

Suddenly, a loud voice cut through their conversation. "So I told her that her purse was an obvious Gucci knock-off, and that she should take it back and get something more worth-while with her money, like a book a full of dieting tips." Miyuki and her entourage. Of course, as soon as she finished talking, her friends burst out into laughter and lavished her with praise.

"Oh, you are so right. Her purse was hideous!" Himiko said, flipping her hand over her shoulder as if to show she'd condemned the purse from the moment she saw it.

"Yeah," Ruki agreed, nodding so fervently Takeru worried her neck might snap. Ruki always nodded. Her head was practically stuck in a constant up and down motion. He'd often though of her as a bobble head. Once she got started, she took forever to stop. "A dictionary full of dieting tricks wouldn't be enough to help her slim down." Ruki said. She and Himiko cackled again.

Miyuki wasn't listening. She'd fixed her gaze on Takeru, and he could read the expression in her eyes loud and clear. She was furious. He tried to plead with her through his eyes. Didn't she know how hard she was to get along with sometimes? I mean he tried! All the time. He gave her everything she wanted and more. What else did he have to give? All he'd done was defend an innocent bystander in one of her unfair tirades. Despite his pleading look, Miyuki's eyes remained hard and unforgiving. Clearly his eye appeals for her to forgive and forget weren't reaching her. He sighed, and opened his mouth to try and to explain…and she looked away. Turning back to her friends, who had just finished chortling.

His mouth hung open though he didn't say a word. She was giving him the silent treatment?

A sharp intake of air next to him reminded him of his best friend's presence. "Ooh, I saw that," Ryuji grimaced. "Shut down. What happened between you two?"

"It's nothing really. I just, uh… I just ye—we just had an argument," he reconsidered.

Ryuji looked at him like he was stupid. "Yeah," he said slowly. "When? Last night?"

"Friday."

"Yeah, okay. So by now, you would have made up already. What happened?"

Takeru glanced around the room. He knew how ridiculously obtuse he'd sound when he admitted the reason why Miyuki had decided to blank him. He knew that a phone call on Saturday morning would have fixed everything. But he hadn't wanted to call her. Why should he have to apologize? _She _was in the wrong.

But then again…_he_ had walked out on her. And he'd degraded her friends into one nameless, mindless group, which was wrong—even though they acted like one sometimes. _And_ he called her a jerk. He grimaced and hung his head in shame. "I didn't call her," he mumbled, half under his breath. Yep. It sounded just as idiotic as he thought it would. He prayed Ryuji hadn't understood what he said.

Silence. And then a disbelieving laugh. "Dude, do you have a death wish or something?" he asked, crinkling his nose. "I mean really. You could have called her this weekend, been ignored the first five or six times and then worked this out! But no. Now she's gonna complain about you to her friends, who in turn, are going to stalk you with these 'I-hate-you-so-much' glares until you wish you were either dead or a student at Sakura Prep, a fate worse than death. I mean, did you see what they did to Hikari on Thursday? _That's_ going to be you."

Takeru shifted uncomfortably. "No. Miyuki wouldn't do that to me. Would she?" Ryuji fixed him with his own are-you-serious stare. Takeru slumped down in his seat. "She wouldn't do that to me. Just you watch." But he wasn't so certain himself anymore.

* * *

Hikari took the steps two at a time. Her short hair was (barely) pulled back into a ponytail. Instead of her usual school uniform, she wore her regulation gym outfit: knee-length shorts, a loose white shirt, and running shoes. On her wrist she wore a sweat band.

"Hikari!" a voice yelled out from behind her. She paused on the bottom step and turned. Rita appeared at the top of the staircase. "Are you going down to the track for practice?"

"Yeah. Do you want to come with me?" she offered.

Rita's whole body relaxed as a large, relieved smile spread across her face. "Oh, could I?"

"Sure," Hikari smiled. Rita bounded down the stairs like a child on Christmas Day and joined the girl on her trek to the track. They walked in silence a moment.

"Uh, um…" Rita began timidly, wringing her hands together. Hikari turned to the shy girl and watched her attentively. "Is… uh… Is your shirt… okay?"

"My shirt?" Hikari asked, glancing down at the one she was wearing.

"Yeah. The one Miyuki got that pen ink all over."

"Oh, yeah. No, it's pretty much ruined, but I have others, so it'll be okay," Hikari replied.

"But… Didn't you get reprimanded?"

"Yeah, I did. But I explained what happened, and he said he'd just let me off with a warning. Thankfully," Hikari said, adding a relieved sigh for emphasis.

Rita smiled. "That's good."

"Yeah," Hikari nodded. The silence settled back over them like a cloud. "So, how 'bout Geography today. Boring as usual, huh?" Hikari spoke up.

"Actually," Rita replied somewhat quietly. "I kind of like Geography." She hooked and unhooked her fingers together awkwardly, furrowing her brow as if speaking her mind might result in the Apocalypse.

"Oh really?" Hikari asked arching an eyebrow. They reached the first floor of the school and hung a right, heading towards the practice fields behind the school.

"Yeah," Rita nodded. Hikari waited for her to elaborate but she didn't.

"Why's that?" she asked, trying to prod an answer out of the girl.

Rita shrugged. "I think it's cool to learn about other countries, you know? And about their cultures. It's like traveling without ever leaving the comfort of your seat. I like to travel," she added, though the statement was unnecessary. Hikari could tell. They pushed through the doors into the mild warmth of the outside. Hikari saw most of the class had already gathered on the track.

She tilted her head and thought a minute. "Yeah, you're right. I'd never really thought about it that way." She flashed Rita a large smile and continued, "Guess I'd better think that way the next time I start drifting off in class, huh?"

Rita smiled back, though her smile was kind of shaky. Almost as if she was walking the edge of a cliff, unsure whether the rock beneath her feet would crumble and send her tumbling to her death or hold her. "Yeah," she agreed with a firm nod. Her smile became steadier. "Yeah," she said again.

By this time, they'd joined their classmates, standing on the track and chatting with their friends. Hikari sorted through the crowd. Still missing a couple of people—Miyuki, Ruki, Yumi, Asuka and Miss Kinoki to name a few. Hikari was glad to know she and Rita hadn't been the last to arrive.

"If you're wondering where Miyuki and them are, she always has to appear fashionably late," a voice said behind her. Hikari jumped and whirled around, ready to fight off the guy if he turned out to be a creep. His face held an almost childlike innocence. Though in shape, his face was narrow, it seemed full of emotion with his—big, expressive brown eyes, perfectly shaped nose (_'Not too pointy, not to round, not to narrow, not too wide,'_ she thought), and soft-looking, kissable mouth. His mouth curved as he smiled sheepishly, only allowing her a peek of what looked to be perfect, white teeth. Hikari felt heat trying to rush to her cheeks (how could she ever have thought of this guy as creep?), but she forced it back down and relaxed. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He took a step towards her and extended his hand. "I don't think we've met before. Namida Ryuji."

"Uh, nice to meet you. Yagami Hikari," she said, shaking his hand. "But I guess you already know that, huh?" she added, mumbling.

He laughed. "Indeed, I did. But it's always nice to hear it from your lips."

Hikari hesitated a second, as she stared at him in wonderment and then smiled, giggling herself. "I suppose that's true." They smiled at each other a moment, as Hikari's mind raced, trying to think of something to say to him. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the arrival of Miss Kinoki and Asuka.

"Sorry, I'm late," Asuka exclaimed sprinting towards the group as fast as her legs would carry her. "I was waiting on the practice schedule for the Sports Fest. We're signed up for Mondays right after school, Thursdays right after school, and Wednesdays we get the late shift, so it's probably going to be after sports practice."

"What? Three practices a week?" someone complained from the other side of the crowd. "Why so many?"

Asuka folded her arms, looking slightly annoyed. "As Miss Kinoki indicated last week, we have a long way to go. Now shut up and let's begin practice."

"Ugh!" a disgusted grunt came from behind Asuka. "I can't believe you were going to start without us." The class turned their heads. Miyuki and her entourage—of course—standing, or rather, posing on the short flight of stairs leading down to the track. Miyuki's own hand was propped up on her hip, which was cocked to the side, one knee bent, her expression of mix of slight irritation and sass. "Perfect way to start an activity dedicated to fostering class _unity_."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "I figured I'd set things up so you could make your dramatic entrance." She drummed her fingers on her bicep, waiting for Miyuki and her friends to join the rest of them. The class snickered.

"Good one," Ryuji said, grinning at Asuka. She smirked back as Miyuki walked saucily down the steps swiveling her hips from side-to-side in her typical 'figure eight' fashion. "Miyu, if you run the way you walk, you're going to dislocate a leg," Ryuji quipped.

Miyuki tensed immediately. Her head snapped around, looking viciously at her fellow classmates as they hid their laughter behind their hands and hair. "Who said that?" she demanded. Ryuji chuckled quietly. "Who?"

Asuka watched silently, perfectly content to let Miyuki keep tossing her head from left to right for as long as she was willing to make a fool out of herself. However, it was not meant to be. Miss Kinoki put the fun to an end with two sharp claps. "Enough. Let's begin." Her voice was sharp, daring anyone to defy it and laugh. The class remained silent, though several people were still grinning. "What's the first event, Asuka?"

"Er… um… why don't we start with the 100-meter dash," she suggested, consulting her clipboard. "Let's see… That's Hikari and Aoichi."

"Me?" Hikari asked, pointing at herself, surprised. She'd hoped she'd get a chance to see the others run first. She wasn't quite certain how this whole Sports Fest thing worked yet. She hadn't been in one since second grade.

"No, the other Hikari in our class," Miyuki snapped. "What are you? Dumb?"

Hikari regarded her a moment with her mouth hanging slightly open, almost as if she were sizing Miyuki up, mentally preparing a couple ways to beat her into a bloody pulp. But instead, Hikari brushed her bangs from her eyes and clipped them back with a smile. "No. Just making sure." The class parted, creating a path to the starting block.

"Why don't we go one at a time today?" Asuka suggested, her index finger resting lightly on her chin. "It will give us a chance to see what we need to work on." Hikari looked at Aoichi, expectantly, but he gestured for her to go ahead, adding, "Ladies first."

"Oh, such wonderful manners," the brunette sighed, kneeling down, and carefully placing her feet in the starting blocks. The class seemed to be holding its breath, eager to see what she had to offer.

Asuka pulled out the stop watch, and readied herself to press the button. "Ready…" Hikari raised her body into the air, so that she was perfectly poised to get a good start. "Set…"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _'Focus on the goal,'_ she said in her mind. _'My goal is the finish line.'_ She opened her eyes again and tensed her body for action.

"GO!"

She shot off the blocks with such explosive power that the class couldn't seem to do anything but gasp, as if a shockwave from her powerful start had knocked the wind out of them. Her slender legs moved at what seemed to be the speed of lightning but held the grace of a swan as she raced for the finish line, her feet pounding rhythmically on the tartan track. She crossed the end point and slowed to a stop, breathing only slightly faster than she had been twelve seconds previous. The class' mouths stood open in shock.

Finally, a feeble voice managed, "So fast."

"Just like her swimming." Hikari chose to take the comments as compliments.

* * *

"I can't believe she runs so fast," Ryuji gushed, his voice bubbling with excitement and amazement. "I mean, she was like the wind!"

"I can't believe we have basketball practice after our sports fest runs," Toshi complained shouldering his athletic bag.

"Hear, here," Takeru added, nodding to Toshi. His thoughts exactly. "And Wednesdays we're gonna be running for like four hours straight"

Toshi grunted. "Yeah. At least Mondays and Thursdays we skip half of basketball practice for sports fest practice." Together, the trio exited the locker room and headed towards the street.

Takeru nodded, and changed the subject. "But, you're right, Ryuji, she does run extremely fast." He glanced towards the swimming pool below as they passed. The water was still, the evening sun reflecting off the surface brightly. It blinded him. Even though it hurt his eyes, he looked at it a moment longer, until he finally couldn't stand it and turned away. "I guess now we know what that 'other sport' she does is."

"Huh?" Toshi looked at him, quizzically.

"Remember? Last week, we were talking about her swim time, and we thought maybe she was a dancer too?" Takeru tried to refresh his friend's memory. The conversation seemed to be dawning on him. "Well, now we know where the muscle comes from. She runs track."

"She doesn't have _that _much muscle," Toshi sniffed.

"Nobody's threatening your manliness, Toshi. You have more muscle than she does. Calm down," Ryuji replied. They walked in silence for several minutes before Ryuji said, "Say, Toshi. Did TK tell you about his new not-so-secret admirer?"

"Ryuji, don't!" Takeru exclaimed.

Toshi looked at Ryuji curiously. "No he didn't. Tell me."

"Don't!" But Ryuji grinned and shoved the blond boy aside, his mouth moving a mile a minute. Ten minutes later, Takeru's face was red with embarrassment, and his two friends were clutching their sides from laughter. "It's not funny!" Takeru yelled. "Stop laughing."

"I… I can't," Toshi gasped, still shaking with laughter. "I've… I've gotta get home. Oh, lord, that's just too rich."

Takeru poked his lip out and cross his arms. "Just go already. I'm sick of seeing you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going. See you guys tomorrow," Toshi sighed, straightening, and turning down the street they stood at the corner of. "Tell me how it goes when you go visit your new girlfriend, TK."

"Wha—shut up!" Toshi had already resumed his chortling. "SCREW YOU, TOSHI," Takeru yelled after him, fighting the urge to raise his middle finger in salute to the boy's retreating figure. Turning back to the front, Takeru stomped across the street, heading for home as well.

"So what are you going to do?" Ryuji asked speeding up to catch up with the blond.

"Huh?" Takeru asked, slightly puzzled by the sudden change. "About what?"

"About Miyuki. Didn't I tell you she'd freeze you out like that? What was it like?"

"Hell on Earth," Takeru admitted. "I have never felt like such a horrible person in my life. All those angry glares and snide not-so-quiet 'whispered' remarks. I don't understand how Hikari manages to put up with it."

"So what are you going to _do_?" Ryuji asked again.

"Grovel like there's no tomorrow, because if she doesn't forgive me tonight, I swear I'm going to throw myself out my bedroom window. I cannot take another day feeling like I just massacred a bunch of puppies or something."

Ryuji smirked at the metaphor. "Well, since you waited this long, you're gonna have to call at _least_ twenty or thirty times before she'll answer at all. Then another couple times where she'll pick up, yell at you, and then hang up before you can defend yourself. And finally, when you sound so desperate, you're like verge of tears, she'll hear you out, and after you begging for forgiveness for a couple hours, she will eventually do as you ask and forgive you."

Takeru blinked at his best friend. "Er…"

"That'll take at least five or six hours. You'd better get started right away," Ryuji added.

"What?"

"See you tomorrow!" Ryuji exclaimed, cheerfully, waving as he split off and began heading down the street towards his house.

"Huh?" Takeru didn't even have a chance to process his departure. Instead, he stood in the middle of the sidewalk trying to understand before he staggered home in a state of confusion.

It wouldn't seriously take five hours to get Miyuki to forgive him, would it?

"Hmm… well I suppose the quicker I get this over with, the better it will be," he sighed, reaching for his phone and pressing speed dial one. The ringing in his ear was deep and monotonous—almost melodic in tone. And it went straight to her voice mail. "Er, hey, Miyu. It's TK. Hey, listen. I'm sorry about Friday night, and I'm sorry that I didn't call this weekend. I got wrapped up in some family stuff. Um… I hope you're not busy. I think we need to talk. When you get a chance, call me back, okay?"

He hung up, and bit his lip. He knew she wasn't at Cheer. There wasn't really any reason she should have missed his call. She always had her cell with her. The only thing he could think of was either she got to the phone too late, in which case she'd call him right back after listening to his voice message, or she truly was ignoring him. He sighed and prayed to God it wasn't the latter. But after waiting twenty minutes for her to return his call, he was forced to swallow the bitter pill of reality: he was being ignored. Still. It appeared it really was going to turn out just as Ryuji predicted. He pressed speed dial one again and listened to the deep, rhythmic ring. Again he got her voice mail.

"Hey, Miyu, it's me again. Listen, I know you're mad, but I really want to talk to you. _Please _call me back. Okay? Love you. Bye." He hung up and waited. He tried to do a little homework in between phone calls, but he was too distracted to do it well, so instead, he took to pacing back and forward across his room, irritably.

**:o:**

_8:47_

"Listen, Miyu. I'm sorry. I know you probably want some space, and I'd give it to you, only thing is, I can't get you off of my mind. It's bothering me. You didn't talk to me once all day. Please, let's not do this."

**:o:**

_9:25_

"Miyu? TK. This is like message number fifteen. Please call me back. I really want to talk to you, okay?"

**:o:**

_9:41_

"I get that you're mad at me, but I'm trying to apologize and you aren't giving me a chance. I am truly sorry, Miyu, and I will make it up to you in whatever way I can. I promise I will. Just please, _call me back_."

**:o:**

_9:53_

"It's almost ten and you haven't called. This is like the 30th time I've called. Please stop ignoring me. I'm sorry, okay? Really, really, really, really sorry."

**:o:**

_9:54_

"Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, _really_ sorry!"

**:o:**

_9:55_

"I don't think you realize just how sorry I am. But you would if you'd just _call back_!"

**:o:**

By ten-thirty, Takeru had given up all hope that Miyuki was going to hear him out that night. Flopping on his bed exhaustedly, he glanced out his window. "I wonder if jumping is the best way to go…" he mumbled, absentmindedly. He didn't understand why she was so mad at him. He'd called what seemed like fifty times. He'd called so many times, in fact, that there wasn't any space left in her voice mail box.

He felt utterly humiliated.

The girls were the ones who were supposed calling every five minutes until the voice mail box was full. The girls were the ones who were supposed leave slightly hysterical-sounding messages. The girls were the ones who were supposed to lie on their beds, contemplating whether it might be easier just to end everything and forget about contacting the significant other. Yes, the girls were the ones who were supposed to be worrying like this in the relationship.

It was the boy's responsibility to be sexy, rugged, and completely inaccessible most of the time, listening to his girlfriend's messages and laughing about them with his friends, perhaps only remembering his 'taken'-status after a long afternoon of skateboarding, when he tosses his phone on his bed and notices the text message and voice mail icons as he's stripping off his clothes to go shower. Yes, that was the boy's role. Something _he_ was not doing right now. The realization devastated him.

In other words, Takeru Takaishi had become the girl in their relationship.

His face burned with mortification. Hesitantly, begrudgingly, almost angrily, Takeru dialed Miyuki's number again and raised the phone to his ear. Needless to say, he was surprised when the deep ring tone was interrupted by Miyuki's voice.

"Hello?"

"Miyuki!" Takeru exclaimed, the relief flooding his voice. Oh great. Now he sounded like the desperate one too. Why did she get to win all their fights like this?

"Takeru." She didn't sound too happy to hear his voice. Nowhere _near_ how relieved Takeru had been to hear hers.

"I've been calling you all night," he sighed.

"You have?" Miyuki asked coldly. "Sorry, I didn't notice."

"Look we need to talk—"

"I'm busy right now, Takeru. Can we talk later? Thanks. Bye." And she hung up before he could even so much as grunt in protest. He stared at the ceiling in disbelief as the dial tone rang loudly in his ear. It sounded so loud, he feared his ear drums might burst at any second. So he pulled the phone away from his head and snapped it shut. It was just as Ryuji said it would be. He knew Miyuki wasn't busy like she claimed to be. She was making him suffer. As if he hadn't suffered enough already.

He waited another moment and then dialed her number again.

"What, Takeru? I told you I'm busy."

"Well, whatever you're doing can wait, Miyu. We really need to talk—_I_ really need to talk to you." And now he sounded like a girl too. This day just kept getting worse and worse.

"Yeah? Well maybe I don't want to listen."

"Miyuki, wait—" The tone drowned out the rest of his sentence. His mouth remained open, though no words came out. Slowly, he took the phone away from his head and dialed Ryuji's number.

"Yo! This is the Ji-man speaking," he said, cheerfully. "How's your penance going?"

"It's not," Takeru grunted. "She won't even give me a chance to say anything."

"What'd I tell you? How many times have you actually gotten to speak with her?"

"Twice."

"Ah. One or two more calls and she should be ready to hear you out."

Takeru frowned. "That's all fine and dandy, but what I want to know is how you knew so accurately what would happen."

"Weeelllll, what can I say? I've had a lot of experience in the groveling department."

"Oh? And what girl did you piss off?"

"Um… just about every girl I've dated in the past like two years or so—"

"Oh?" Takeru asked, his voice going up even higher, showing his astonishment.

"—but this isn't about me. This is about you and Miyuki. And you are so close, so you should get off phone and go call her."

Takeru scoffed as his eyebrows bent further in together, thereby deepening his frown. "Yeah, but if this is how she's going to act, maybe I don't want to apologize to her anymore. This is frustrating. I've wasted my entire night just trying to hear her voice. This isn't what I should be doing in this relationship."

"Huh? What _are _you talking about, TK?" Takeru could practically see the expression of confusion and disbelief on Ryuji's face. His voice was heavy with the two emotions.

"I'm not the _guy _in this relationship. Girls are the ones who pull this call fifty times in one day crap." Takeru poked his lip out and crossed his arms as he balanced the phone on his shoulder. "I'm the freakin' girl!"

"Dude, Miyuki is always the guy in her relationships. That's how it always is, and that's how it always has been," Ryuji grunted, dismissing his disgruntled friend's complaints. "I don't know why you're so surprised."

Takeru felt his face flush. "Still, it's so degrading. I don't even know she's worth it. I don't think I want to apologize anymore."

"Whoa, hold on there, man. Those are dangerous words. Don't say them out loud! The walls have ears. Do you want to endure days like today for the rest of the year? For the rest of your life even?" Ryuji's voice seemed to hold an expression of sheer panic, perhaps even fear.

"Well, no. But she makes even apologizing hard, it's annoying. I mean, isn't she mad at me? Doesn't she want me to apologize?"

Ryuji ignored him and went on, "Well, of course she does. Don't be stupid. But that doesn't mean she won't make you work to do so. She's testing your loyalty, especially after the stunt you pulled on Friday. Defending Hikari like that, and then not calling all weekend. That's like the most insulting thing you could do to girl, nevermind Miyuki. You completely defied her. So, unless you want your life to be a living hell, I suggest you keep calling and calling until she listens to you."

"Why are you so interested in the outcome of this fight?"

"Because, you know it doesn't take long for part of the blame to somehow jump to the best friend." Ah, so that was the reason he was panicking like he was.

"I really don't think you have anything to worry about. It's not your fault."

"Well, of course it's not my fault. You know that and I know that. But girls are crazy, especially those girls who are part of Miyuki's inner circle. They'll say I told you to do it or something. Like I would _influence_ you to make the worst mistake of your life." Takeru snorted and crinkled his nose. Ryuji ignored him. "No, I wouldn't, but I would help you correct it, which is what I'm doing right now. Stop talking to me and call her."

"But it's nearly 11:30," Takeru whined.

Ryuji's response was unsympathetic. "Then I guess you'd better hurry."

Takeru sighed. "Fine."

"That's a good boy!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Tell me how it goes!" Ryuji hung up before Takeru could respond. Instead, the blond heaved a sigh, and sullenly dialed Miyuki's number.

* * *

A sleepy groan echoed through the silent room as pages rustled beneath the mop of blond hair covering them. The rustling stopped, and slowly, blue eyes opened and adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming through the window.

"Gnngh?" Takeru grunted, sitting up and rubbing the drool off his cheek. He was seated at his desk, his homework skewed across the surface. Why was he sitting at his desk? _'Oh yeah. I was trying to finish my homework last night. I wonder how I did.' _"Hnngh spleehh." He yawned and stretched luxuriously, before pushing his desk chair back and standing up.

Lazily, he swung his eyes across the room to the alarm clock on his bedside table. _8:41_. He nodded… and then did a double-take. 8:41? "I'M LATE!" he yelled, flinging the chair out of the way as he leapt across his room to his closet, hastily pulling his school uniform on. After zipping his pants and buttoning his shirt, he haphazardly pushed the papers on his desk into his book bag, shoving the books in after them. "Damn it, why didn't my alarm go off?" Dashing from his room, he put on his shoes and grabbed his jacket out of the hall closet. With only one arm in the green garment, the other struggling to hold his athletic and school bags, and a breakfast pastry stuffed in his mouth, Takeru Takaishi sprinted from the apartment.

* * *

"Hikari, I can't believe you're so good at sports," Rita said, propping her head up with her hand. Her elbow was supported by Hikari's desk.

Hikari smiled and shrugged. "I'm not good at all sports. Just track and swimming."

"Like it matters. You're fast enough, you could play soccer or basketball or something," Rita said. "All the boys look up to a girl who can hold her own in a sports game. I can't even hold the ball, much less kick or shoot it or whatever it is you're supposed to do with it."

Hikari laughed. "Well, I tried soccer once, my freshman year in high school. Let's just say I found out soccer involves more than just running around a big field."

Rita cocked an eyebrow. "Freshman year? Isn't that, er…"

"Um… the equivalent of Middle School third years, I think," Hikari muttered. Rita nodded. At the front of the classroom, the door slide open and Miss Kinoki entered.

"All right class, to your seats, to your seats," she said, waving her portfolio around slightly. "Hurry, hurry. We've got lots to do as today, as you know."

At that same moment, the door at the back of the classroom slammed open. The entire class shifted its attention to the blond racing into the room, looking rather disheveled, sweaty, and exhausted. He was gasping and gulping air like the room might empty of oxygen at any moment. His jacked was rumpled, his shirt creased, and his hair looked like it hadn't been combed in years. But Takeru seemed oblivious to all that. With a relieved sigh, he sank into his seat and emptied his school books into his desk (also messy looking with folded, crinkled papers sticking out of every book at awkward angles).

"Good, glad that everyone's present and accounted for," Miss Kinoki said with just a hint of sarcasm. "I trust that everyone rested well last night, because it's time for our first Math test of second term," she added with a smile as the kids groaned. "Everyone please take out your pencils."

A light bubble of speech filled the room as the students retrieved their writing utensils from their bag or desk. All except one person. Takeru Takaishi. Hikari regarded him curiously. All the blood had drained from his face, leaving him ghostly pale, his blue eyes held a deer-in-the-headlights look, and his mouth hung open in what she interpreted to be shock, surprise, or abject terror. His hand trembled.

The Math test. He'd been so busy with Miyuki last night that he'd completely forgotten to study. "Oh no," he whispered.

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to all who reviewed: _Ashley Porter_, _Laury-KOS_, _butterflyangellover14_, _twiinklestar_, _Pebbles_, _TopazledHannah-kun_, _Final Genesis_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _joeshen_, _Takerus Lost Angel_, and _Shire Folk_. Ahh! And so many new faces. Thanks so much for your reviews. I appreciate them all.

**Laury-KOS**: Yes, the drama is tiring. I'm sorry if it's a bit too much for you. All the high school things I've read have drama, so maybe I'm going a bit too over the top. I'll try to do better in the future (though, heads up, this chapter might fall under the super dramatic category). I'm not quite sure who those other characters you were talking about are though. Could you enlighten me? (Unfortunately, there aren't going to be too many Takari moments in the next two or so chapters, but they are coming, I promise.)

**twiinklestar**: Thank you so much. That compliment means a lot to me.

**Pebbles**: Hardly inconsiderate, I say. And things in my life are quite well. Extremely busy, but I'm having fun. And, I'm really happy, which is good, because I was worried I might be really stressed! Though, since Friday I have been rather tense as my neck and shoulder muscle will attest. Unfortunately, a family friend died recently and the funeral was Friday afternoon. I've been jumping through emotions. On a different note, I'm so glad you like Miyuki's character. The girl's a censored as you put it, but her character is so much fun to write (and I hope a lot of fun to read). But now, the true question becomes: how are things in the life of Pebbles?

**TopazledHannah-kun**: Haha! Yeah. Who doesn't have friends like that? As far as the part in Chapter 4 after the Wii playing, I take it you're talking about when Daisuke and TK are out walking on the street. They were sent out to get food. Sorry that wasn't clearer. I'll try to fix that before I repost Chapter 4. And it's good that long chapters don't bore you. I think sometimes I get a little carried away. Haha. -sweatdrop-

**Storyteller of dimensions**: Sorry. Like I just told TopazledHannah-kun, I get a bit carried away sometimes, and really focused on getting through everything I have planned for a chapter. I stop paying attention to length. And you are so right. I could have split it and used the extra time. Why didn't I think of that? But I'm following your advice this time around (even though Part 2's not written yet, so I'm not sure it's the same at all). As far as TK and Hikari finding out their siblings are best friends, don't you worry. I've got that scene all planned out. I think you'll like it.

**joeshen**: Haha. Forgive me for laughing, I actually am sorry that your last date went like TK and Miyuki's did. How awful that must have been! (Unless you got to storm out as triumphantly as he did?) And I know what you mean. Something about long blocks of italicized text draws me in too. As far as the missing part between the restaurant and the dream sequence, consider it done. I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense, so as I am adding that scene in while editing Chapter 4. Thanks for the suggestion!

**Shire Folk**: I think you're the only one who noticed that. And yes, the hangovers are never fun.

_**Preview of chapter 6:** Hikari gets to know Ryuji better and reconnects with an old friend. Meanwhile, Takeru and Miyuki reaffirm their relationship, having finally made up. However, Takeru's still feeling a bit uneasy about their relationship and some shocking news and advice from Akari causes him to reconsider it._

Coming soon!


	6. Chapter 6: Making Up and Making Out Pt 2

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Edited: Tuesday, December 28, 2010

_**In the previous chapter:** Takeru paid the price for not contacting Miyuki earlier to apologize for their fight. After spending a day suffering through the same sort of treatment Hikari gets, he spends the evening groveling. Meanwhile, Hikari formally makes Ryuji's acquaintance._

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do own Miyuki, unfortunately, which means I have no one to blame for her annoyingness but myself. Sadface.

Happy reading!

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 6:

**Making Up and Making Out: Part 2

* * *

**

Star-struck eyes followed Mr. Kuriyama's pacing figure. "He's so hot," the girl behind Hikari sighed. The girl leaned forward, trying to get a better look, breathing her hot, sticky breath on the back of Hikari's neck. As subtly as she could, Hikari scooted her desk forward, crinkling her nose a little. Despite the frown marring Mr. Kuriyama's face, she had to admit he still looked absolutely gorgeous. His shaggy brown hair slashed across his face, covering the left side of his face like a curtain, behind which shined intense blue eyes. His skin was tanned and perfectly unblemished, and of course, who could forget the six-pack, only vaguely visible whenever he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I shall be telling this with a sigh/ somewhere ages and ages hence:/" he said, holding up an extremely worn paperback book. Hikari tried not to crack a smile at his deeply dramatic and raw sounding voice. _'I guess Japanese teachers are just like English teachers when they read great literature,' _she thought, perching her chin on the palm of her hand. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—/ I took the one less traveled by/ and that has made all the difference." He paused to let the final words of the poem sink in and then turned back to face the class. "So tell me, what does this mean? What is Robert Frost trying to tell us?" The class remained silent, watching Mr. Kuriyama expectantly, waiting for him to answer what they hoped was a rhetorical question. "Anyone?" His eyes raked over the class again. "All right, Miyuki. What does this poem mean?"

Miyuki jolted at the sound of her name and stumbled to her feet. Flattered by his "favoritism" (evidently, he only tortures the people he _likes_ with his absurdly difficult philosophical questions), Miyuki's cheeks flushed a deep red as she stammered, trying to move her thoughts away from an image of Mr. Kuriyama's body dripping with water as he came up out of the sea. Clumsily, she (semi-)focused on the poem. "W-Well, I think, um, that… it, er, means…hmm…" Hikari watched her with disinterested eyes, drumming her fingers against her cheek.

"Well, it means that when you're presented with two roads, you can't take both. You have to make a choice. And sometimes the best choice is by going with the one less traveled," Miyuki said, watching the teacher's face carefully. The silence settled back over the class as Mr. Kuriyama and Miyuki stared at each other keenly.

Finally, when it became apparent that Miyuki didn't have anything else to add, Mr. Kuriyama spoke again, "Right. Thanks for that summary of the poem, Miyuki." Miyuki's visage brightened visibly at the self-perceived compliment and turned to face Hikari as she sat back down, smiling smugly once she'd caught bored brunette's eye. Hikari knew what Miyuki was gloating about before the girl even opened her mouth. _'Mr. K called on me, and I got the answer right,'_ her eyes seemed to say. Hikari looked back in slight amusement. As if she cared that her Literature teacher called on Miyuki, and Miyuki summarized the poem. _'Beat that,'_ Miyuki mouthed, before turning back to face the front. Hikari chuckled slightly as her eyes flicked back to the front.

"So, Miss Yagami, please enlighten us to your interpretation of the poem," Mr. Kuriyama said, turning his attention to her. Pushing back her chair, she stood. She hadn't exactly planned to show Miyuki up. In fact, she was just going to put in her personal opinion and sit down, but this was a poem she had studied at St. Claire's, so she already knew more than her classmates. "It seems as though this poem could be interpreted at least two different ways," she said before she could stop herself. "Literally, in which case, the poem promotes independence and individuality, or ironically. In places, he chooses intentionally vague words, yet some of them seem to hide a measure of regret."

Mr. Kuriyama arched an eyebrow, and leaned back on Miss Kinoki's desk, crossing his arms. Half the class erupted into hushed giggles and sighs. "Interesting. Can you give us an example of one of his ironic word choices?"

Hikari paused and thought back to her freshman English class. "Well, as he begins the fourth stanza, he says he will relate this experience with a sigh, because he took the road less travelled, but in the second stanza he admits that neither path had an advantage over the other. He knows what is down one path, and in retrospect, wishes he had taken the other, not necessarily because he knows what's on that path is better, but perhaps it would have been more interesting."

"Very good, Hikari, thank you," Mr. Kuriyama said, dropping his arms to his sides and standing upright again. Hikari sat down, and in spite of herself, shot a shocked, slack-jawed Miyuki a confident smile. _'Beaten,'_ she mouthed, and then turned her head away before the other girl could respond. The teacher continued, "Which brings me to your assignment for the week. You will be assigned a partner, and together, the two of you will write a composition that contains at least two different meanings. Ironic, literal, symbolic, or even a meaning only certain people will understand—though you will be asked to explain both meanings to the class after a short discussion of your work. It will be due on Monday." He grabbed Miss Kinoki's pencil jar and pulled from his briefcase and plastic bag filled with scraps of paper. Dumping them into the jar, he picked it up and walked over to row of desks by the window. "The teams will consist of one boy and one girl, though a couple teams will just be boys because there aren't enough girls in this class to give every boy a girl for partner. You should know that if any of you switch partners during the course of this assignment, you will automatically get a zero."

When he'd allowed every male in the class to draw a name, Mr. Kumiyama returned to the front of the room and picked up his class roster. "All right, let's see who you got. "Aoichi, we'll start with you."

"Rita," he said, looking up from the paper he was staring at in his hand. Mr. Kuriyama jotted this down on his roster, and without looking up, indicated the next boy in line. "Katsu."

Katsu, a boy with red hair and bright blue eyes, grinned as he glanced across the room at his partner. "The lovely Ayame," he said, only a hint of sensuality detectable in his voice. Immediately, Ayame erupted into giggles, hiding her face with her hands and peeking through as if she was embarrassed, yet eating it up at the same time.

"What the hell?" Hikari heard the girl behind her whisper to her next door neighbor, finally backing off the nape of Hikari's neck.

Her neighbor responded without missing a beat. "I can't believe you haven't noticed. They've been flirting all week." Hikari's eyebrows creased slightly together. The flirting had been shameless too.

"Takeru," Mr. Kuriyama continued, ignoring Ayame's flirtatious purrs in Katsu's direction. Hikari sighed and glanced around the room. Miyuki smiled, sure that fate had brought her and her boyfriend together, Daisuke looked at her apologetically for some reason, Yumi was glaring Ayame down, either about to kill the girl or completely lost in thought. Some kids were doodling or passing notes, others were gossiping like the girls behind her.

"Hikari."

Everything stopped. His voice had been perfectly clear, but the world suddenly seemed fuzzy. Had she heard correctly? Had _anyone_ heard correctly? Was it truly possible that Takeru and Miyuki wouldn't be doing a project together? Startled, Hikari glanced at Takeru, who merely shrugged as if he didn't understand it either. All eyes turned towards her. Hikari shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and looked around, wishing everyone would go back to their doodles and conversations, but clearly people found this much more interesting. Especially when Hikari caught Miyuki's eye from across the room; one look told the brunette all she needed to know: Miyuki was not happy. Hikari gulped as the blood drained from her face.

* * *

Hikari sighed and leaned back in her chair, relieved. Class had finally been dismissed for lunch, which meant she could clear out before Miyuki returned from wherever she'd stomped off to after Mr. Kuriyama had refused her demand to let her change partners. He must not have liked her as much as she thought. She glanced over to where Akari sat at his desk, holding his head in his hands, looking thoroughly defeated. Either that or extremely pissed. "So, I guess we're partners," a voice said from beside her. Hikari perked up and glanced to her left where Takeru was sitting.

"Yeah, guess so." _'At what cost?'_ she wondered. Still, she was surprised he'd said anything at all. Aside from her name, this was virtually the first thing he'd said since the math test that morning. "When should we get together to do the composition?"

"Well, we can't do it tomorrow, we have sports fest practice, and I have basketball practice today, tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday," Takeru said.

Hikari nodded. "Yeah, and I have swim practice today, Thursday, and Friday."

"That leaves the weekend then," Takeru replied.

Hikari thought for a minute. She had been planning to stay in all day and watch movies with a big bowl of popcorn on Saturday, but she'd promised Sunday to Tai for another photo shoot for his next advertisement project…. Which meant she'd have to give up her movie day. Sighing internally, she spoke, "Will Saturday work for you? I'm going to be busy all day Sunday."

"Oh yeah, sure," Takeru replied airily, as he began to feel around in his desk. "I'm free all weekend."

"All right," smiled Hikari, reaching into her desk and removing her lunch. "Then we'll meet Saturday morning at the park. Around, say, nine-thirty, ten o'clock?"

"Sounds good," he replied before turning back to his desk with a frown and feeling around in it a bit more fervently.

"Takeru, are you coming to eat with us?" Akari called from the across the room, where he was standing by the door talking to a pretty dark-haired girl about a foot shorter than him.

"Yeah, one second," Takeru call to his friend, before cursing under his breath.

Hikari looked between the two friends and turned in her seat, preparing to stand. "Everything all right?"

"No, I forgot my lunch," Takeru answered, pushing his chair back and standing. He glanced at the clock and sighed, "And it's too late to go get bread; it'll be all sold out by now."

"Oh no," Hikari gasped. "You could have some of my lunch if you want."

"That's all right," Takeru smiled. "But thanks for the offer." He began walking towards the door, waving at the petite, doll-faced girl standing beside Akari as he did so, but Hikari grabbed his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

Takeru turned his face to the brunette, astonished. "If you're playing sports this afternoon, you _need_ to eat. You can't expect to do anything on an empty stomach," Hikari chided. "We can split it, I don't mind." She was genuinely worried about his well-being? Heat rushed to his face until a sudden pain in his stomach caused him to grunt and clutch his midsection. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, dropping his arm. _'Why do those keep happening?'_ "And I'll just get something from Miyuki, thanks."

"Just as long as you eat," Hikari said, satisfied. She released his arm and turned to pick up her lunch from the desk, she came face-to-face with the girl who'd been standing beside Akari a few seconds previous.

"Would you like to eat lunch with us?" she asked. "We always have room for a good athlete."

"Er, um…" Hikari stammered, glancing around to see if Miyako had shown up yet. "Well, I was—"

"If you were going to eat with another friend, why don't you just invite her to join us too? I'd really like to get to know you," the girl replied without skipping a beat.

"Sure… I guess," Hikari acquiesced, and instantly found herself being led from the room and down the hall.

"Great," she replied. "My name is Izanagi Fumiko. I go by Fumi."

"Wait, Izanagi? Are you related to Akari somehow?"

"Oh yeah, he's my older brother," she said. Hikari examined her again. She was very pretty. She had long, thick, wavy black hair that fell to the middle of her back, and a blunt that hit at the arch of her eyebrow. She was short—extremely so when compared to her brother—and frail-looking, almost as if she'd fly away if Hikari so much as blew on her. Her big, expressive eyes glimmered with a mischievous glint, as her perfectly-shaped lips spoke her next sentence, "I'm a first year. I heard you were pretty, but I don't think the rumors did you justice."

It took only a second for Hikari's face to turn bright red. "Th-thank you. I don't think I can hold a candle up to you."

Fumiko flashed a smile at her. Perfect teeth, amazing smile. While she did not exactly possess the same Amazonian goddess genes Yumi did, Fumiko was in a league of beauty all her own. Hikari could not understand why Miyuki didn't feel threatened by Fumiko's beauty. Maybe it was because the girl was a year younger than the social Queen Bee, but judging from all the boys waving, grinning, and calling out her name as she passed by Hikari suspected that wasn't the case. "Thank you. You are an amazing athlete. I was there when you tried out for the swim team, supporting a couple of my friends; I was shocked. And then Akari told me about your performance at the Sports Fest practice yesterday, and he tells me that you're really smart. So that's what? Beauty, brains, and athleticism. Is there anything you don't have?"

Hikari laughed. "You make it sound like a much bigger accomplishment than it actually is. Thanks for the compliments, but there's a ton of stuff I'm not good at."

"Like what?" Fumiko asked as they pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard.

"Like soccer. Watching me trying to headbutt a black-and-white ball is truly amusing," she replied with a grin.

Fumiko giggled. "I'd like to see that sometime."

"Maybe you will someday," Hikari replied amiably as they selected a spot underneath a large shady tree. Glancing around Hikari could see Ryuji and Daisuke approaching as well. _'Guess this is the usual spot,'_ Hikari thought. She turned to Fumiko. "Thanks again for the invite."

"No prob," Fumiko answered, waving her hand dismissively. Something caught her eye as she moved toward a spot to sit down. "Though…I'm not sure you should thank me yet."

"What?" HIkari asked, and Fumi pointed at something behind her. The brunette turned around. Miyuki was storming towards the ever-expanding group under the tree. As more of them noticed the incoming time, the friendly banter trickled to a stand still. By the time the raging social butterfly arrived, the group was totally silent. Shoving past Hikari, she moved to greet Takeru with a peck on the lips and a quick snuggle before finally rounding on the swimmer and taking several steps towards her.

Her eyes glinted angrily as Hikari returned her glare with a smile. Wasn't the slut scared of her? Because she should have been. Miyuki had the power to make her life a living Hell. If she was anyone else, Miyuki could have made her an outcast too, but unfortunately, Hikari's pretty face prevented her from doing that—another small fact that pissed the angry brunette off to no end.

The rest of her lunchmates were quiet, waiting for one of them to make the first move, but when it became apparent that Hikari wasn't going to do anything, Miyuki took it upon herself to teach the new girl a lesson in intimidation. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, fixing Hikari with an icy stare that matched the sharp edge in her voice. She folded her hands across her chest, waiting for a response.

"I invited her," Fumiko replied airily. Miyuki shot the younger girl a death glare, but flicked her eyes over to Akari, standing tensely by her boyfriend, ready to pounce at any moment, and reconsidered. The fact that he towered at least a foot over her helped reinforce her decision to leave Fumi out of the discussion. Miyuki set her jaw, but said with a falsely pleasant tone, "I'm not talking to you, Fumiko. Let Hikari speak for herself." She turned her attention back to Hikari. There wasn't a hint of niceness when she next spoke. "_Well?_"

Hikari considered her words carefully. Since it was clear that nothing she said or did would make Miyuki like her, there was no point in trying to be kind about it. She folded her arms delicately and responded, "Well right now, I'm here pissing you off, but in about two minutes, I'm going to be eating my lunch. You?"

Miyuki's cheeks flushed red. The bitch was mocking her! She wanted to kill her. No one mocked her—it was social suicide. Instead of threatening to have her beat up, she snapped, "What makes you think you're allowed to sit here after you stole Takeru for the composition project? He's _my_ boyfriend. _We_ should be working together."

"Look Miyuki, I had nothing to do with the pairings. It's not like I used any freaky mojo on him to make him choose me. I don't even have freaky mojo to use! He picked a name out of a hat and that name just happened to be mine. Get over it," Hikari sighed, pushing passed the steaming brunette and plopping down on the grass with her back against the tree.

Miyuki followed Hikari with her eyes and flared her nostrils in an unflattering manner. "Trade with me," she ordered.

Fumiko crossed between the two girls and sat down beside Hikari, closely followed by Akari, who settled himself beside her. "No," Hikari said flatly. "Didn't you hear Mr. Kuriyama say that anyone who traded partners would receive a zero? I'm not interested. If you want to be with your boyfriend so bad, take it up with Mr. K again."

"I think I will. And since Mr. Kuriyama _still_ loves me more than you, _don't_ expect to be with Takeru much longer!" she snapped, and flounced across the courtyard towards the building.

Hikari watched her go before starting to unwrap her lunch. She picked up a sandwich from her box. The others regarded it curiously as she raised it to her mouth and took a bite. "Who's Miyuki's partner anyway?" She'd been so shocked and self-conscious after hearing Takeru say her name that she'd completely tuned out the rest of the class.

"Me," Akari said, ruefully. Hikari's head snapped around at the sound of his voice, and he looked at her regretfully. They stared at each other a moment and then dissolved into laughter.

* * *

"Finally, practice is over," Miyuki sighed, sitting on a bench in the boys' locker room. "I thought it would never end. The coach really works you out there."

Takeru came around the corner, smiling as he wiped his hands on his pants. "Yeah, well… He doesn't play around, that's for sure."

She nodded and watched Ryuji pull on his uniform jacket and grab his bags. "Still," she started, turning her attention to Takeru. "You were working so hard out there. You looked so good. It was sooo sexy." She smiled at him, and ran her tongue along her teeth, looking up at him through her long, thick lashes. Takeru's grin widened as he crossed the room and lifted her chin, planting a kiss on her soft lips. "Well thank you," he said, quietly after he'd pulled away.

"Ew," Ryuji interrupted.

Takeru laughed. "Oh dude, chill."

"Yeah, 'dude,'" Miyuki added, standing up. "You're just jealous. You boys ready to go?"

"Oh, you know me," Ryuji said, picking up his bags. "I'm always jealous of my best friend sticking his tongue down his girlfriend's throat, especially when he does it right in front of me. Please, it's muggy enough outside without the two of you making your own steam." Miyuki fixed him with a stare and rolled her eyes as she turned away and lead the two males outside towards the main gate.

"Ugh. I can't believe, Hikari," Miyuki complained. Ryuji's eyes flashed in dawning comprehension. "Who does she think she is? Obviously, she's done something to Mr. Kuriyama. She's probably got a swelled head because she's with you."

Takeru glanced down at his girlfriend, an expression between apathy and annoyance on his face. Was she seriously still thinking about that? "Well, Mr. Kuriyama can be something of a hard ass sometimes."

Miyuki pouted, folding her arms across her chest, sullenly. "He never was before _she_ came along." Ryuji cleared his throat loudly until Takeru looked at him. He rolled his eyes in his infamous imitation of a miffed Miyuki who wanted something material to appease the guilty one's sins. The message was clear: fix it. Or in this case, her.

"Hey, Miyu, why don't you come over and I'll make you some hot chocolate, just the way you like it," Takeru said, comfortingly pulling her back into his well-built chest. He nuzzled the side of her face and traced her jaw line with butterfly kisses, feeling her tense body relax slightly as she sank into him. "Hmm?" he asked, his voice a near whisper as he hovered centimeters away from the crook of her neck. "What do you say?"

"Okay," she sighed, melting into his grasp. Takeru kissed her one last time and straightened, taking care to keep his arms wrapped around her, casting a glance at Ryuki to see if he was satisfied.

Ryuji was by a bush about three yards back pretending to puke out his guts.

Takeru blanched and frowned. Wasn't this the idiot who insisted he should stay with Miyuki when Takeru had been ready to give her up? And now he couldn't even take the PDA? Takeru was about to punch him. "Ryuji," he called, and his best friend whirled around. "If you're finished, would you like to hurry up now?"

A whistle echoed across the grounds. Ryuji hesitated. "Ryuji, come on!" Miyuki demanded, snuggling into Takeru's arms.

"Actually, I just remembered I forgot something. Why don't you guys go ahead? I'll catch up with you later, Takaishi," he replied and turned on his heel, jogging back towards the locker room.

Shrugging, Takeru turned the pair back around and spoke into her hair, "I guess it's just you and me, sexy."

* * *

"Hikari, are you going out tonight?" Miyako asked from where she stood, bent over stepping into her skirt.

"Nah," Hikari replied, running her hand through her wet hair and clipping her bangs back out of her face. "I think I'm gonna go home and crash. Do my homework, maybe watch a movie. You?"

"I was going to go catch a movie and some dinner with friends. I was gonna ask if you'd be interested. Are you really that tired?"

"Exhausted," Hikari replied, the word sweeping from her mouth in a gust of air. She rummaged around in her locker for a plastic bag.

Miyako watched her and frowned. "Well, if you change your mind, call me."

"I will," Hikari agreed, flashing a smile over her shoulder. She dropped her wet swimsuit into the bag and tied it closed, shoving it into her athletic bag. She swung the sagging navy blue bag over her shoulder, grabbed her brown school satchel, and swept from the locker room. She frowned slightly as the hot, humid air settled around her thickly. "Ugh. Ew," she sighed, pausing momentarily to glance up at the darkening sky. The clouds hung heavily in the heavens. As she strolled towards the school's front gates, kicking a pebble down the path in front of her, Hikari's mind wandered back to lunch. What exactly had happened then? Aside from the obvious, that is. When Miyuki had returned, something was different. Aside from her bottom lip, that is, which protruded from her face in a picture perfect pout. It was almost like—

"Hikari!" a voice exclaimed, yanking her from her thoughts. She jumped in surprise and whirled around.

A laugh as sweet as honey bubbled across the courtyard. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Hikari's pounding heart calmed when she saw Ryuji standing several yards ahead of her by the front gate.

She removed the hand clutching her chest and hurried forward, smiling. "Don't worry about it. I should have seen you, but I was—"

"Lost in your thoughts?" They met halfway. "I noticed.

"What?" Hikari asked, a blush creeping across her cheeks. He was watching her?

"I waved, but you didn't respond," he explained, smiling down at her. The heat subsided, though the redness of her face remained. An awkward silence—awkward for her, anyway—settled between them. Hikari searched his face, taking in his almond-shaped amber eyes, surrounded by long eyelashes. His nose and mouth both shaped the perfect size for his face. His tanned skin seemed to glow despite the fact that the sun was covered by dark gray clouds. And then there were his perfect teeth. She felt her heart speed up as heat rushed to her face again and quickly turned away, facing forward, staring at the ground.

"So Ryuji, what are you doing here so late? I thought basketball ended early today," Hikari asked, plowing forward as she changed the subject.

"Whoa, wait!" Ryuji exclaimed chasing after her. "It did end early. I was waiting for you actually."

"What?" Hikari squeaked, her face turning as red as a cherry.

Ryuji continued, passing the high-pitched sound off as a bird, "I thought we could talk." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, turning her around in the process. He turned her red face up towards his.

"Talk?" she asked, her mouth slightly agape.

"Yes."

"About what?"

"About you," Ryuji stared at her a minute and then continued with a question. "Do you want to grab a cup of coffee with me?"

* * *

Takeru threw his front door open and spilled into the front hall with his girlfriend, both of them sopping wet. Outside, the torrential rain pounded against the ground as the sky rumbled angrily overhead.

"Whoa," Miyuki gasped from where she was prostrated on her hands and knees. Her chest heaved up and down as she gulped air desperately.

"I agree," Takeru said, breathlessly. "That came out of nowhere." They took one last look at the torrential downpour, and then Takeru kicked the door shut.

Another moment of stunned silence passed between them before they got to their feet and headed to Takeru's bedroom. "We should get out of these as quickly as possible so we don't catch colds." He embraced her already shivering body and rested his chin on top of her head. Together, they clomped into his room, at which point he forsook her to get dry clothes out of his closet. "Here," he said, tossing a shirt and pair of shorts her way. She smiled and pulled the stack closer to her, pausing to watch as Takeru took off his shirt. She bit her lip and grinned, suppressing a growl. He was so hot the way his muscles rippled as he reached for his shirt and leaned back to pull it on.

Slowly, he slipped off his pants too, as if he knew she was watching. As he rested his hand on the band of his boxers, she turned away and began unbuttoning her blouse. Though, she couldn't resist a peek… Just out of the corner of her eye. He had such a nice bum. She smiled to herself and purred. And he was hers. All hers. Discarding her shirt on the floor, she then stripped off her tank top and let it dangle from her fingers a moment before letting it go.

Takeru glanced over his shoulder as he heard the soft sounds of wet clothes hitting the floor. He looked a moment and then bit his lip and turned away, concentrating extra hard on buttoning his pants. He didn't look at Miyuki as she changed. He knew she wouldn't mind—perhaps she wanted him to. Maybe he even wanted to see. Not that it mattered. His conscience wouldn't let him look anyway. He'd feel bad. _'Damn, Takeru. Grow some balls already.'_

Slowly gathering his clothes, he turned when he was sure she had finished changing and held his hand out for her wet uniform. "You done? I'll go put these in the wash and we can watch TV."

Miyuki nodded and smiled. "That sounds great." He headed out of his room, beckoning her to follow him. After a pit stop at the utility closet, he joined Miyuki on the couch and flicked on the TV. "What do you want to watch?" he asked.

"Hmm, nothing in particular," she replied, snuggling against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder in response and they sat in silence, Takeru watching the TV and Miyuki watching Takeru. She loved the way his eyes spoke volumes about the way he felt about the things he was seeing and hearing. The shape of his jaw line and the way it tightened when he clenched his teeth in thought. The way his Adam's apple moved when he swallowed. Takeru, as if finally noticing her gaze, inclined his head towards her curiously.

"Hmm? What's up?" he asked.

"You are just so cute," she whispered, caressing his cheek before leaning up to kiss him. He smiled at her when they pulled away, searching her face before returning the kiss himself. It quickly escalated. Between tongue wrestling and swapping spit, Takeru, somehow, ended up on his back, Miyuki on top of him, his shirt hanging from the corner of the bookshelf in the corner. She was so fervent in her advances, discarding her own shirt as well.

Enticed by the supple skin, he kissed down her jaw line and buried himself in her neck, leaving little butterfly kisses in his wake as he moved down towards her chest. Her skin was on fire. She wanted him, _needed_ his cooling touch or else she'd overheat. He was so passionate. Even though she had to draw him out, he was exactly what she needed. She chalked it up to the passion of the writer's spirit in him. She gasped slightly, her head tossed back as her hands moved from where they rested on his muscular shoulders up his neck and tangled themselves in his hair. She loved when he was so assertive. But then all of the sudden, he stopped. His lips hovered inches from her cleavage as he stared, seemingly dumbfounded.

He couldn't. He knew she wanted him too, but his conscience… He wasn't ready for that type of commitment with her. It would be as good as a marriage proposal to her. He suddenly felt queasy and flinched as painful cramps claimed his stomach. He grunted involuntarily and fell back, slightly embarrassed, but also relieved. "Miyu, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling too well, all of the sudden." And all at once, the spell of fire was broken. But that was okay. It would be self-centered of her to expect him to perform when he was feeling sick. He'd already indulged her that much. Gently, she scooted down on where she straddled his body and lowered her hands to his flat stomach, massaging it slowly.

"It's probably because you worked so hard in basketball today, love," she replied, leaning down for a quick kiss. He obliged and after another moment of massaging, she lay back on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders, resting his hands on the small of her back.

Takeru's thoughts were less affectionate. _'Damn it, dude. Grow some balls!'_

Almost as if Miyuki's words had triggered the sensation, all the activity of the day suddenly caught up with him. His muscles ached, his eyes drooped, and his mind became groggy and slow. The even breathing of the girl on top of him told him that she was feeling much the same way. "TK," she whispered, softly, just barely holding on to consciousness. She spoke in a slow, deliberate manner, carefully enunciating each word the way people do when they're almost too tired to comprehend anything. "You are so hot. You and me. We belong together."

The image flashed into his mind before he could fully grasp what she'd said. Miyuki standing in the darkness holding his pulsing heart in her hands. Her voice echoed through his mind. _'It's for the best…. then you won't ever leave me…'_ "We'll be together forever," she whispered. Forever? Panic! His stomach cramped again, so quickly he didn't even feel the tingling sensation that usually preceded it. Feeling it, Miyuki moved her hands back to his mid-section, rubbing it slowly. But this time, Takeru was certain the cramp had not come because of basketball. From the sense of dread coating his stomach like Pepto-Bismol, Takeru knew it was something else.

* * *

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hey girl! It's been so long since we talked face-to-face. I miss you so much!_

_**ShoeBunny91: **__I miss you too. 3_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Guess who's here with me today!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Um… Chase?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ No, it'_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ HIKARI! IT'S ME! I MISS U SO MUCH, BEBE._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ MIRANDA?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Yay! You still remember me. That makes me so happy. :')_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Like I could ever forget you. Oh, I miss you so much._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I'm so excited to see you._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Or talk to you at least._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Yes. I'm_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Thank you for cutting me off midsentence, Miranda._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Anyway, it's not the same without you. Miranda is still pining._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I told her about your little fight with Miwaku, and she said she's coming to Japan to beat the crap out of her._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Yeah, I'mma show her how we do in Cali._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I appreciate it, but you don't need to be so violent._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Though on second thought, at least I'd get to see you if you did that. Maybe it's not such a bad idea._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ And it's Miyuki, by the way._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Eh. Who cares what her name is? She needs a beat down._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ ANYWAY, speaking of Miyuki, how's life with her going?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ About the same. She hasn't inked up anymore of my clothes, thank goodness._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ That's good. Though actually, she may be plotting to kill me after today._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ What's up?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Takeru (her boyfriend) and I were assigned to do a composition project together and she couldn't get Mr. Kuriyama to let her exchange partners._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Mr. Who?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Nevermind._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Wait, why is she mad at you? How is that your fault?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Beats me._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I think you mean 'beat DOWN.'_

Kari chuckled. Miranda was still the same. Thank goodness for that.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Miranda…_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Which reminds me. What is Miranda doing at your house so early in the morning?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Talking to you, of course!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ No, seriously. I can't imagine her waking up early to come to your house, Angie._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I'd do anything for you, bebe._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ But seriously. She spent the night last night._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Now back to you. Seriously nothing of note has happened?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Actually, though, something kinda weird did happen today._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oh?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yeah. I was leaving school after swim practice and Takeru's friend, Ryuji, was waiting for me at the gates._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Is he cute?_

Hikari's cheeks flushed with heat at the question, but slowly tapped out a response.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yes. He's well-proportioned. He's got a baby-like face and large golden brown eyes and brown hair._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oooh. Do you have a pic?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Uh, no. Maybe I can get one?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Um, you'd better. Miranda and I get final say on any guy who wants to be your boyfriend. Just because you're halfway around the world doesn't change that fundamental fact._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Heck yes! Losers are out!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ He's no my byfrind!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ *not_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ *boyfriend_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oooh. Typos. So he's not your boyfriend but you'd like him to be._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I never said that!_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Bebe, it's no use trying to lie to us. We know you too well. Shame on you for trying!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Aren't you late for first period?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Tch. Since when do we care about first period?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ And trying to change the subject now to? Tsk, tsk, tsk._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ …_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Okay, okay. We'll stop. So what happened w/ what's-his-name?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Well…_

It had been a surreal experience. They'd gone to that café where she and Miyako always went for tasty pick me ups.

"You like to come here, right?" he asked as they grabbed a table by the window.

"Um, yeah," she squeaked, fighting to keep her cheeks from coloring. So he had been watching her. Subtly. She hadn't even noticed. Or maybe he'd been asking around? This seemed to be a fairly popular spot among teenagers at her school. Did he… Was he… dare she think it? Did he…perhaps, by some stretch of the imagination… _like_ her? Her heart pounded at the prospect. He studied her face, carefully, taking in every crease and dimple.

"So what's good here? I've never had anything here before," he asked, finally looking at the counter.

"Their hazelnut coffee is really good," Hikari replied, laying a hand on her cheek. It felt hot. "That's usually what I like to get."

"Okay," Ryuji said, standing up suddenly, pushing his chair back with his legs. "A hazelnut coffee coming up."

"What? Oh—wait!" she protested, but he was already gone. Hikari watched him as he crossed the room and got in line. She was having a bit of trouble believing she was here. His invitation had come completely out of left field. When he'd returned, they talk, about any and everything. He told her about his family (an older sister, who thought he acted like a bum, but they got along well, regardless), how he'd gotten interested in basketball (a camp his mom had forced him to one summer long ago), how he'd met and befriended Takeru (they were both 'ladykillers,' he'd claimed; it was only natural that the two of them drifted together), and what his interests were, aside from basketball (listening to music—g5 was his current favorite, playing video games—he kicked ass in tennis, and spending time with his sister—she was good-natured, he insisted, slightly embarrassed). And then he'd asked about her. All kinds of personal questions, though unlike the first day, she didn't mind answering most of these. There little coffee outing was wonderful, and when a lull in the rain prompted them apart, she thought she caught a flash of regret of their parting on his face.

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Dang girl! It sounds like he likes you!_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Even more reason we need to see a picture. Pronto._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Pronto?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Shh. Miranda is already giving me flack about it._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Anyway, all this talk about talk over coffee made me realize I could go for a cup myself. Miranda and I are gonna go to Starbucks._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Aw. Get a chai green tea in my honor._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I will, girl. I'm so glad I got to talk to you._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Bye Hikari._

Hikari signed off and closed her laptop. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. What a strange day. Everything that had happened had been so out of the blue. First, Takeru, then, Ryuji. What would happen tomorrow?

Wait.

What a stupid question. Of course she knew what would happen tomorrow. Miyuki would kill her. Her cellphone burst to life on the desk, blaring Fergie's _Glamorous_. Okay, so she hadn't yet gotten completely acclimated to life back in Japan yet. She didn't know who the hot young stars over here were. She glanced at her caller ID. Miyako.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hikari. What's up? Got any boys over, Miss I'm-too-tired-to-go-out," Miyako cooed into the phone. Hikari frowned.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Please, don't play stupid. I saw you in that coffee shop with Ryuji today after you blew me off. You could have told me you had a date, you know."

"Actually, it was a last moment thing. He was waiting for me by the gate and asked me to coffee, that's all."

Miyako laughed, a certain good-natured patronizing tone to it. "You only _think_ that's all. Tell me everything. Start from the beginning."

* * *

"All right. That ends the lesson for today," Miss Kinoki said, turning from the board and placing the chalk back into the small container she had on her desk to hold chalk. "I know you're all anxious to see your math test scores, so I'll pass them back. In addition to your homework assignment for tonight, I want you to correct these tests," she added, grabbing a thick stack of papers from her desk and moving through the rows handing them back to their original owners. "_Some_ of you have more correcting to do than others. Unfortunately, that's how the cookie crumbles. Really, however, that 'some' of you should have done a lot better." She paused as she laid Takeru's on his desk face down. Their eyes met momentarily, and Takeru could see it written all over her face. Disappointment. His heart sped up. Oh no, he'd really botched this one, hadn't he? As she moved away, he grabbed the paper and turned it over, the blood draining from his face almost instantly.

51. The numbers were written in the corner of the paper in blood red ink and circled as if to twist the knife. He stared at the paper, shell-shocked before finally reacting, folding it over with his right thumb while his face sank into his free hand. "Oh my god," he whispered.

"Class dismissed. Takeru, I'd like a word with you please." He flinched when Miss Kinoki said his name. Slowly, the classroom emptied to take advantage of break. Students attempted to loiter out of curiosity. But Miss Kinkoi shooed them away as Takeru rose, walking slowly to the front like a condemned man walking to the gallows. How had this happened?

"Takeru," she said. He raised his face to look at her. "I'm sure you're aware of school policy. I'm required to notify your parents of this grade, but this isn't like you. What happened?"

"I don't know, ma'am. I…I fell asleep while I was studying," he replied in a shaky voice. It cracked in and out of a whisper. He felt like ghost having an out-of-body experience. Was that boy standing at the teacher's desk really him? It couldn't be.

Miss Kinoki hmmed thoughtfully, mulling this information over in her mind. "Takeru, you're a good student, a good boy. I know you work hard. Thus, I won't tell your mother of this misstep. If you correct this test, you can get up to half credit back and raise your score to a passing grade, _however_, I will only do this on one condition."

"Yes? What is it? I'll work harder in the future, I promise."

"You must get your brother to audition for the lead in the school musical. Otherwise, you will have to take his spot."

* * *

Oh my god. Everything was ending. His life, his grades, his relationships. The world was spinning. How on earth was he supposed to convince Yamato to come sing in a high school musical, especially considering he'd graduated three years ago? His head sank into his hands as he rested on the steps going to the courtyard. Sensing he was upset, his meandering classmates left him alone and steered themselves over to the other set of stairs a little bit further down. He appreciated it. He needed to be alone right now.

Steps shuffled up behind him. "Takeru." Akari.

"What?" he moaned, not removing his face from his hands. True to form, Akari took the blond's semi-annoyed response as an invitation to sit down beside him. "Takeru, what did Miss Kinoki want to speak with you about?"

"I failed my math test," he whispered. "She's going to call my parents unless I convince Yamato to participate in the school musical. If I can't, I'll have to take his place." He paused, rubbing his eyes, trying to make sense of the events that had just transpired. "I'm so humiliated."

"Didn't you study?" Akari asked. He'd thought the test had been fairly easy, himself.

"I fell asleep. I was up late last night trying to fix my relationship with Miyuki after I didn't call her last weekend to apologize for our fight." He paused again, considering his next thought. "Who knew having a girlfriend could be so exhausting?"

A long space of silence passed between them, Takeru mourning his misfortune, Akari lost in thought, and then, "It shouldn't be."

"What?" Takeru asked, abandoning his hands and looking up.

"Having a girlfriend should be a refreshing experience, Takeru. It shouldn't be a burden. As long as you were happy, I promised I wouldn't say anything, but you're not happy anymore, so I'm not staying quiet any longer. I don't like Miyuki. She's not the girl for you. You are a very kind, selfless, accommodating person; she is very self-centered. To say she's mean would be an understatement. What do you see in her that makes putting up with all her antics worthwhile? It's not the sex, I know that much, because you haven't _had_ sex with her. And it can't be looks, because she's not _that _much hotter than other girls in the school. So tell me, because I'm really trying to understand.

"She makes you spend ten hours groveling for forgiveness, because you got mad at a comment she said that was way out of line. She takes you for granted, she walks all over you, she makes _you_ apologize to _her_, even if it's her fault to begin with, and you don't mind! She's got you trained. Hell, you're like her goddamn dog. You treat her with all the respect in the world and _that's_ how she repays you? And you just take it? There's something really wrong with that picture, Takeru, especially considering there are girls, pretty girls, in this school who would treat you a thousand times better and who practically throw themselves at your feet everyday—not necessarily saying that one of them is for you, but any of them would be better than her. At least they'd care for you. I mean, does the fact that you haven't had sex with her over five months into this relationship send warning bells off in your head. I mean, you're hesitating for a reason, and surely it's not because you've fallen in love.

"I value your friendship. And I wouldn't say this if I didn't think you needed to hear it, but she's got you failing math tests to apologize to her over stupid things like calling her a jerk, which by the way she is, if not worse." Akari paused, allowing what he'd said to sink in, carefully taking in Takeru's shocked and confused expression. "I'm not saying you have to break up with her. That's your choice, but I just want to appreciate what you see in her. And if you see nothing, I think you should reconsider your decision to be with her. If she's really who you want, I swear I will make a harder effort to get along with her. But do you really like being her royal lap dog? She tells you to bend over and you do it without questioning her. I dunno about you, but to me that seems just a little more humiliating than being in the school musical," he finished standing up and going back up the stairs into the building. Takeru turned and stared at his hands in contemplation. Slowly, he brought them to his face and slumped against the wall in defeat. His world was caving in around him.

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to all who reviewed: _gatomon3444_, _Kiari_, _Arceumon_, _Kari King Takaishi_, _twiinklestar_, _chienwei_, _BLAHBLOT_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _Takerus Lost Angel_, _musiclover9419_, _butterflyangellover14_, _Pebbles_, _rime of the ancient takari_,_ joeshen_, and _Final Genesis_. Thank you so much. I appreciate it and adore you all. If I forgot anyone, please forgive me. It was unintentional and I adore you too.

**Arceumon:** Haha. So I've been told it's a chick flick and shame on those mean girls who tricked you like that! :( It was still a good movie though. Anyway, thanks for reading, I'm glad you enjoy it. And it depends, what kind of advice do you need? I've been told I'm full of it... Of advice that is. You know, because…oh nevermind.

**twiinklestar:** o: I dunno~ Maybe. -shifty eyes- And it seems you are the only person who paid attention to the second half of the title. Congrats! Your question will be answered in this chapter. :) Thanks for reading!

**chienwei:** I'm trying, but honestly, I'm not sure I have time for it right now, unfortunately. We'll see.

**Storyteller of dimensions:** Okay, I hope this has enough of Kari's POV in it, though it may be Takeru heavy again. The next chapter will be Takeru heavy again, but good things will happen next chapter, so methinks you won't mind it. After that, Hikari's back on center stage.

**Pebbles:** Thanks for your sympathy. Even though months have passed since you extended it, I still appreciate it. Sadly, another friend is dying from cancer and the doctors think he'll pass soon. And you get paid to burn stuff? o: That is so awesome! And hahaha! Can I just say that you are amazing and your reviews make me laugh? Because it's true.

**joeshen:** Thanks. Yes, as I was telling Storyteller of dimensions, I think this chapter may be Takeru heavy again, and the next one will be too, but then Hikari will be back on center stage, I promise.

_**Preview of chapter 7:** Takeru and Yamato get reacquainted with each other, and Takeru decides to do something he can't take back._

Check it out!


	7. Chapter 7: Apologize

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Edited: Tuesday, December 28, 2010

_**In the previous chapter:** Takeru and Miyuki made up, but Takeru found out some devastating news from Miss Kinoki: for his failing test grade, Takeru must convince Yamato to audition for the school musical or else Takeru will have to take his place. Akari offers him a bit of friendly advice. Hikari, meanwhile, finally caught a break, and got the chance to speak with Miranda, one of her best friends from America._

This chapter was inspired by **"Apologize"** by **OneRepublic**, **"Sorry"** by **Maria Mena**, and **"7 Things"** by **Miley Cyrus**—please no Miley Cyrus bashing. If you don't like her, that's your business. It's not necessary to share.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon. If you sue me, all you're going to get is an alarm clock with a ridiculously loud and annoying alarm. Have fun with that.

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 7:

**Apologize

* * *

**

When Yamato opened the door, he did not expect to find his brother dripping wet on his door stoop. "Takeru," he murmured in surprise, scratching his ear lazily. He never expected to see his brother, especially not on a Thursday afternoon, standing unusually close to the space the door had occupied a few seconds previous. Yamato's younger sibling stood quietly at his door, an athletic bag slung across his shoulder, his book bag in hand, and a dripping umbrella by his side. To avoid the rain, he had pressed himself as close to the door as he dared without thrusting himself completely upon it. As a result, when the door opened, the two siblings found themselves only inches from each other.

"Uh…" Takeru intoned, awkwardly, looking everywhere but Yamato as he searched for words to explain his position. When he found none, he finally allowed their gazes to meet. Yamato merely stared at him, slowly taking in the situation.

"I know mom wants us to become closer, Takeru, but you and my door is not what I had in mind."

Takeru's face flushed with embarrassment, and, instantly, he jerked his shoulder back, stumbling as he went. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be…that close to the door…I was just trying to avoid the rain," he mumbled, trailing off. "And I just thought that maybe…"

"Nevermind," the older blond replied, stepping aside. "Come in,"

"Thanks," Takeru said as he entered the apartment. He tapped the excess rain water off his umbrella before leaning it in the corner against the wall and wiping his shoes on the welcome mat.

Yamato watched his brother in silence. He seemed distracted. _'Must've met a girl,'_ he reasoned, and closed the door. "It's good to see you again, TK. Twice in one week. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

Takeru froze, his fingers resting on the tops of his shoes. _'Should I tell him?'_ He supposed it would be courteous to tell Yamato upfront why he'd stopped by. At least if he told his brother, he might feel a little relief from the sense of impending doom nesting in his stomach. The feeling had not gone away since the previous afternoon when his failing math grade had ruined his life.

…Okay, perhaps he was being a _little_ melodramatic. So he'd tell him.

On the other hand, Takeru had just walked all the way here. In the rain, no less. If he asked Yamato about the musical upfront and Yamato said no, it'd feel weird hanging around for any length of time afterward. Takeru paused to consider the situation and nodded. His lips were sealed.

He picked up his shoes and dropped them next to the umbrella before straightening. "Nothing in particular," he replied, thinking vaguely of how he'd dragged himself across town, sloshing through water with feet seemingly made of lead. "I had time after basketball practice—not like mom's going to be home. Thought I'd see what's up." He discarded his school bags and followed the older boy through the apartment.

"Ah," Yamato replied, walking through the living room into the kitchen. A laptop sat on the counter with a small laser mouse wired to it. Beside it sat a half-empty glass of water, a bottle of beer, a crumpled napkin smeared with yellow stains of some condiment, probably mustard, and a plate with crumbs of bread and tiny shreds of lettuce on it, clearly the remains of a sandwich. "Well, there's nothing that interesting going on here." He paused by the refrigerator. "You want anything?"

Takeru shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Suit yourself," Yamato said, climbing up onto the stool in front of the laptop. Takeru followed him, grabbing the stool next to him. Yamato hardly noticed. He was too busy staring intensely at the computer screen. He studied it a moment and then began clicking, swooping the mouse around the screen with the ease of a seasoned professional. Curious, the younger teen leaned forward to see what Yamato was doing.

He appeared to be editing a photograph of a girl, all but her right eye hidden by a plaid newsboy cap. The perspective of the photo afforded Takeru a look at her whole body. Her legs were clad in jeans, one propped up on the edge of the chair, the other hanging over the edge lazily, disappearing from view. From there, he could see the white tank that skirted her stomach, lightly kissing the skin it covered. A coral scarf wrapped around her neck hung in front with a large triangle of fabric, which vaguely reminded Takeru of the cowboys in the cartoons he watched in his younger years. Her left arm rested on her propped up knee, while the fingers grasped the bill of the cap easily. A silver ring glinted on her ring finger, while half a mischievous smirk curved across her face.

"What are you doing?" Takeru asked.

"Working on a project for my advertising class."

"Yeah? What are you advertising?" Takeru asked, staring at the girl, looking so relaxed, yet so put together.

"Sora's clothes. We're supposed to team up with people of different disciplines to advertise a product, and since Sora's in fashion design, Tai and I decided we'd just use her creations. Not like we had to change our schedule any. She's over here all the time anyway."

"Oh, cool," Takeru replied.

"I guess," Yamato shrugged, saving the changes he'd just made to the image and clicking print. He jumped off his stool and disappeared from the room, reappearing a moment later holding a paper in his hands. He frowned as he stared at it before crossing the room and sitting down again, discarding the paper to the side. Immediately, he started clicking again. Takeru picked up the paper and examined it.

"This is pretty good. Looks legit," he said after studying it a moment.

"Thanks," Yamato replied. "It better give us an 'A.' Taichi pissed off our professor last week, and if we don't put in the effort we'll get stuck cleaning the chalkboard erasers for a week." He pulled a face as he tapped a few keys on the keyboard. "Forget that. I left that crap behind when I graduated high school."

Takeru grimaced. "Sounds brutal. Well, I think you'll do fine. If I saw this ad, I'd buy some of Sora's designs for my girlfriend." The compliment had come out sounding kind of lame, but Takeru was sincere. The ad intrigued him.

Yamato stopped and turned to face his brother. "Thanks, Takeru. That means a lot." No tears sparkled in his eyes, but Takeru could see the gratitude in Yamato's eyes. For all the knowledge Yamato seemed to have of the program, he'd clearly spent the majority of his free time working on the project. Takeru acknowledged his brother's appreciation with a smile.

"No problem," he replied, turning back to the paper he held in his hands.

"So are you still dating that Keiko girl?" Yamato asked, going back to the task at hand.

Takeru frowned. Keiko? "No, we broke up forever ago. Like a year and a half ago."

Yamato's froze again, as his cheeks reddened. Had it really been that long since they'd last really talked? He felt so embarrassed. "Sorry to hear that. She was a really nice girl," he mumbled as he went back to work.

"Yeah, but she made everything such a big production. She planned and timed everything. We were always on a schedule. 5:45: Arrive at her house. Catch the train at 6. Enter restaurant at 6:13. Sit down to eat at 6:21 and twelve seconds. It was pain. We could never be spontaneous. The one time I tried surprise her with flowers and a movie, she got so mad at me, she didn't talk to me the entire evening. She wouldn't let me kiss her until like our seventeenth date." Yamato fixed Takeru with a disbelieving stare. Takeru returned his gaze a moment and then gave in, "Okay, we didn't go on seventeen dates, but it took a long time. It's not like I tried to force myself on her, but after hearing 'It's not the right time' seven times, I lost interest."

"You can't blame her," Yamato slurred, turning his attention back to the laptop and, placing his elbow on the counter. He rested his head on the palm of his hand "Girls dream about things like their first kiss with a new guy. She just wanted it to be perfect, I'm sure."

"I guess, but I like to be able to kiss my girlfriend. Anyway, I ended it. I'm dating this girl, Miyuki, now."

"Oh yeah? What's she like?"

"She's…cool."

"Really? Cause you sound like you're walking to your execution. Can't kiss her either?"

"Oh no, I can kiss her. In fact, I'm pretty certain she wants to take our relationship to the next level."

"Oh?" Yamato perked up. "Sounds great. Awesome, man!"

"I guess…"

The older blond frowned and released the mouse facing Takeru again. "That's not a good thing?"

"Yes, no… I don't know. She's really pretty, but I'm not sure I want to make that commitment with her. She's very…" Controlling? Rude? Self-centered? At least that's what other people said. "…demanding."

"Clingy?"

"Kind of. In her own way. Jealous."

Yamato winced. "Ouch. Proceed with caution, Takeru. Girls like that can be bad news if you aren't careful." Takeru nodded, sullenly, and a silence settled over the room. "Hey listen," Yamato interjected. "I'm sorry we haven't talked much in recent years. It's my fault. I never took as much of an interest in your life as I should have once I started college. But that's gonna change. High school can be really rough, and I know mom's not around much, so… I want to be your rock—the older brother you should have had, but didn't. You're welcome here anytime."

Takeru looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Yamato." The two sat in easy silence as Yamato turned back to the computer, and Takeru went back to studying the picture absentmindedly. "So when this thing due?"

"Monday. I'll be glad when it's over, but our professor's a total slave driver. We got another ad assignment today, due in two weeks."

"That sucks, man," Takeru replied. He glanced at the clock and swallowed roughly. Now was the time to breech the subject of the musical. He nervously thumbed the page he held in his hands. Some of the ink smudged. Shoot. He wanted to keep this, if he could. He laid the page down on the counter and wiped his sweaty palms on the leg of his pants. "You know what? I bet singing in front of an audience would cheer you up." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Takeru wanted to take them back. _'The hell is wrong with you, Takeru? Could you have come up with a dorkier way to start this conversation?'_

Yamato stopped working and glanced at Takeru, confused. "What?"

"Um, er, uh, well… Remember when you used to describe playing in your band as a cathartic experience? But you guys haven't played a gig together in a while, right? I bet you miss it, huh? So what better way to get back onto the music scene than by singing the lead in my school's musical?"

Yamato blinked at the younger boy a moment, and then did exactly what Takeru hadn't wanted him to do. He burst out laughing. And kept laughing until his face was red and his abs were sore. Takeru sat in miserable silence, his own face reddening from embarrassment. "Takeru," he finally wheezed, clutching his stomach. "You've flipped your lid if you think"—hahagigglesnort—"I'm going…"—sniggersniggerchucklesnort—"to sing in a high school musical." As his laughter and exclamations of incredulity ("I can't believe you asked if I wanted to sing in a high school musical! Hahaha, that's rich, TK!") continued to echo through the empty apartment, Takeru allowed his forehead to drop to the counter. He wanted to die. This was way beyond embarrassing—it was positively mortifying!

* * *

Hikari stared, disheartened, into her desk. She'd stepped out to use the bathroom. Obviously, she should have expected her books would turn up missing. Again. They'd been "mysteriously" disappearing ever since Miyuki realized that her attempts to trip Hikari in the hallways had begun to fail. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when Miyuki's lackeys line the hall, it's time to find another route. Though she could easily dodge their attempts to trip her—she just had to step over them—that required her full attention, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. She was sick of trying to watch where she was walking and double-checking that no one was coming at her with another "broken," (read: leaking) ink pen. She'd taken to avoiding them all together. Sure it meant taking the long route, but she enjoyed the peace and quiet she experienced along the way.

She sighed and closed the desk softly, pushing back her chair as she stood. She'd have to go find them. Again. She ignored the titters and sniggers from Miyuki's crowd as she passed, and barely resisted the urge to kick one of their chairs out from under them. Her patience for their childish pranks was dwindling fast. She stomped down the hallway, glad she had some time to herself. The only problem was she had no idea where to find her books. Sometimes they were together, sometimes apart, usually found by other kind souls who took it upon themselves to return them. With nowhere to begin, Hikari took to checking everything that seemed like a good hiding place.

She found them several minutes later, dumped in a garbage can in the third-year wing. Annoyed, she rooted through the trash, tossing out her books as she found them buried under other people's midmorning snack wrappers. She tried not to puke.

"Hikari!" a voice called. When she looked up, she was blinded by a flash of light and two girls skipped off down the hall, guffawing. Hikari suppressed the urge to scream. She rescued the last book from the garbage and lugged the stack back to second-year wing where she carefully wiped each book's cover clean with a damp towel and then washed her hands. The brunette snorted as she started the trek towards homeroom, entertaining pleasant thoughts of revenge, revenge that, unfortunately, wasn't practical. There was no way Hikari could take on Miyuki's whole entourage by herself. She sighed again.

"Hey, Hikari," Ryuji said, coming up behind her. Daisuke appeared on her other side, falling into step with the other two easily.

"Hi Ryuji, Daisuke," Hikari replied, smiling.

"Hey, what's up, Hikari? Do you need some help with your books?" Daisuke asked, proffering his hands to her.

"Yes, that'd be great!" She gasped in relief as she the weight of her books eased until she was left with but one book to carry—a paperback at that. Her smile widened as she looked at the two gratefully. "Thanks so much. Huge relief. Those things are heavy. You'd think the teachers were trying to break our backs."

Daisuke groaned in agreement. "I know! They can't seriously expect us to lug them home every night."

"That's why you go for the don't-do-it-at-all approach, I'm assuming?" the brunette asked, her red eyes shining with laughter.

"No!" Daisuke exclaimed, feigning hurt that she would even imply that. He blinked at her innocently, pretending he was trying to restrain tears. "I do it in the mornings."

"Right before class," Ryuji chimed in with a smirk.

"If it works, it works," Daisuke replied with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"Sure, sure," Ryuji agreed before turning his attention to Hikari. "Why were you carrying them through the hallway? Don't tell me you took them all home last night!"

"No. Someone ran off with them again. It was Chieko and Kaoru no doubt. Dumped them in a trashcan in the third-year hallway."

"Again?" Daisuke asked. Hikari nodded. The soccer-fanatic looked up at Ryuji, concern etched across his brow. "Don't you think it's time this stopped? I mean, the tripping and the stealing. Takeru and Miyuki aren't having problems, are they?"

Ryuji frowned and shook his head. "No, they're solid."

"I wonder why Miyuki's got it out for Hikari then. She can't still be mad about Hikari shooting her down last week," Daisuke pondered aloud.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Hikari deadpanned. The trio was about to enter homeroom when Hikari spotted Miyako talking to Akari, his lanky frame leaning against the wall, relaxed. He ran a hand through his hair, which lay ungelled and normal against his skull, bangs covering his left eye. The lilac-haired girl caught Hikari's gaze and moved toward her, waving goodbye to the taller boy. "Hey, I'll be in a minute. Thanks for carrying my books, guys. I really appreciate it. One more, please." She handed the paperback to Ryuji.

"Yeah, sure." "No prob," the two guys chorused together.

"Miyako," Hikari said smiling and gesturing to Akari as he disappeared into homeroom as well. "What was that about, hmm?"

Miyako flushed a light shade of pink. "Nothing much."

"Oh really?" the younger girl questioned. "So you're slowly turning the color of a cherry because of 'nothing much.'" Her last sentence was not so much a question as a statement. She smirked, knowingly.

"Really, it's nothing. I just lent him a CD, and he was telling me what he thought of it," Miyako replied.

"And?"

"And he liked it! He asked if I had any more of their stuff."

"Oh, Miyako! You two really seemed to hit it off, didn't you?"

The bespectacled girl's face lit up. "Well yeah," she exclaimed, leaning forward eagerly. "Like I told you when I called you about the trip, I just happened to notice that he was buying g5's new CD, and I was like, 'I love them!' and we just started talking. Who would have thought I'd have similar music tastes to the school rebel?"

"That's great!" Hikari crossed one arm across her chest and let the other rest against her rib cage while her finger tapped her chin thoughtfully. "And you know what they say about two people with similar music tastes."

"What?"

"They walk to beat of the same drum—you guys are made for each other!"

Miyako pulled back and blinked at her friend in confusion. "What?" she asked again, this time incredulous. "They do not. You just totally made that up. Only an idiot would say that."

"So what if I did? It's true!" Hikari replied. She jabbed her finger in Miyako's direction. "And _that_ was cold. Don't take it out on me just because you don't know how to walk in step with that drum!" she chided in response the older girl's other remark. A scream echoed from Hikari's homeroom and was quickly followed by the sound of chairs hitting the ground and desks scraping across the floor. The two girls paused in their conversation to glance at the wall, as if they had x-ray vision that would allow them to see what had just happened.

They stared at the wall a minute, and then Miyako turned back to the brunette and sighed, crossing her arms. "Hikari, what in the name of Satan's panties are you talking about? Where do you even come up with these things?"

"Tai."

"Who?"

"My brother."

"What?"

"You'll understand when you meet him."

"If I want to meet him…" Miyako mumbled, apprehensively.

"No, no! Tai's great. Honestly, he's not that bad. Just give him a chance."

"Mm-hmm…"

"And anyway, this isn't about Tai, this is about you and Akari being totally made for each other. The key to his lock—"

"That sounds dirty."

"—the charm to his chain—"

"This conversation is over," Miyako replied, shaking her head and starting to walk down the hall.

"—the 'g' to his '5'!"

"Goodbye, Hikari," Miyako called back without looking over her shoulder as she continued towards her homeroom.

"See you after school!" Hikari yelled after her, waving. She crossed her arms again and laughed, grinning from ear to ear. She loved weirding out Miyako. Chuckling again, Hikari dropped her arms to her sides and strolled into class, immediately glancing to the corner of the room to see what the screaming and crashing had been about.

The desks were strewn around, pushed from their usual uniform columns and rows into a circle at the center of which were two knocked over chairs and Miyuki, clutching her ankle. She seemed hysterical, searching around her person frantically. "Did anyone find it? Did anyone get that spider?" she cried out. Her friends fawned over her, barking orders at other classmates to look for the 'monster' that had allegedly attacked the petite brunette.

"Are you okay, Miyuki?"

"Did you hurt your ankle too badly, Miyuki?"

"Can you walk, Miyuki?"

And, of course, Takeru sat dutifully by her side, holding her wrist trying to coax her hands away from her ankle so he could take a look and confirm whether her ankle was sprained or just twisted. Miyuki melodramatically collapsed against his strong chest, breathlessly telling him just how big and ugly this spotted spider had been.

Hikari took all this in within a fraction of a second, and it took another fraction for the whole scene to lose its importance. Suddenly, she was dripping wet. The class turned to see look at her, and she realized she'd screamed when the water cascaded down around her. The cruel laughter that sounded from her left, followed by the sound of hands clapping together in celebration of job well done told Hikari all she needed to know. Her gaze shifted back to the opposite corner to take in Miyuki's smug face smirking back at her. She could feel her shirt pressing against her chest and stomach, the water caressing the skin as it dripped onto the ground below. Her skirt clung to her legs, emphasizing their shape, creasing slightly in the middle where the cotton material had nothing but air to grasp.

She peered at the faces of her classmates, most reflecting the same shocked expression she had upon her own face. And then, slowly, she began to see the flashes of recognition as mouths twitched into small smiles. The boys suddenly seemed happy. Hikari looked down and realized why. Her shirt was white. Immediately, as she glanced up in horror, tears began to bubble in the corners of her eyes. They traced themselves down her already wet face, and like the water droplets on her nose, dripped from her face onto the floor. Her chest heaved as a sob began to build in the depths of her gut; she buried her face in her hands, humiliated, and sprinted out of the room.

The classroom was silent. No one, not even Miyuki, had so much as coughed. Everyone was stunned, and Takeru was no exception. His mouth hung open, at first unable to comprehend what exactly had happened. But as he looked at Chieko and Kaoru standing on a desk pushed by the door holding an empty bucket from the art room, it all clicked into place. A whisper from beside him broke the silence, followed quickly by more whispers and quiet chuckles. He turned to his suddenly quiet girlfriend, seeking an explanation as to why two of her lackeys were standing there high-fiving each other. He was ready to give her the benefit of the doubt—the the two had acted without her orders and had not told her what they were planning, but her gloating expression shattered those well meaning thoughts. Her eyes were sharp, cruel and cold, without an ounce of regret. _You got yours_, they seemed to say. Takeru stared at her, astounded.

And all at once, the astonishment turned to anger. Takeru jerked his hands away from the girl, almost pushing her away in his effort to stand up. "I can't believe you," he spat, glaring at her a second before shoving his way through his classmates. "Hikari!" he called, rushing out of the room after her, leaving an abruptly confused Miyuki in his wake.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Takeru asked. They sat in the sun, outside on the steps, he in a ribbed tank and Hikari in her gym uniform, Takeru's school jacket wrapped around her shoulders. Her school uniform was currently in the dryer. At his question, her face flushed.

"That was so embarrassing," she gasped, dropping her face into her hands and slowly running them up through her hair. "I was wearing a white shirt."

Takeru felt horrible. He couldn't imagine what had crossed her mind when that happened in front of a group of people she hadn't yet known two weeks. And what was worse, his girlfriend was the reason. "I'm so sorry," he said, apologizing for the fifteenth time. "I can't believe she'd stoop that low."

"It's not your fault," Hikari hiccupped, covering her eyes with her hand and resting the arm on her knee.

Takeru stared at her uncomfortably. He wished she'd say something else, because even though she said it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but try to take responsibility. After all, he'd let Miyuki pick on Hikari without putting forth much effort to stop her, and here it had gotten totally out of control. He should have said something. He wanted to make up for his lack of action before the incident; she looked like she could have used a hug, but… He didn't know her very well. Hugging her would have been more awkward than helpful, and wasn't that kind of a girly thing to do? As if it wasn't bad enough that he'd run off with her, he'd intentionally chosen a stairwell that couldn't be seen from his classroom. Miyuki was probably dying to see what was going on and pissed that she couldn't. She'd bend his ear about it later—but then, on second thought, why did he care? To think she was that malicious made him sick to his stomach.

"I'm sorry about Miyuki. She's a real bitch sometimes." He paused, letting the gravity of what he'd just said sink in. He'd called her 'vindictive,' 'unkind,' and 'mean,' but never a 'bitch.' Slowly, a smile spread across his face. He turned to the brunette, who, though still hiccupping and sniffling, had finally stopped crying. He continued, "She gets really jealous, and while it definitely doesn't excuse her behavior, she seems to have this idea that the school is split into people that are either with her or against her, with no one in between. At first, I think she only disliked you because you turned her down when she asked you to join her crowd. But last Friday, we saw a movie together and I…" he paused again, this time contemplating what he was about to say. He hoped it didn't make him sound weird or stalkerish. He took a deep breath and took the plunge, "and she said some really rude stuff about you, and I stuck up for you. I called her a jerk and walked out on our date. Even though you had nothing to do with it, I'm pretty certain she blames you for my behavior." He stopped again and looked at her, hoping the sincerity of what he was about to say shown through so that she would understand that he really did need to make an apology. It was his fault. "I'm not sure how she jumped to that conclusion, but she's had it in for you ever since. And then, you know, the composition project didn't help much either. Somehow, she dragged you into the middle of a fight you had nothing to do with. I'm sorry."

Hikari mulled this information over a bit and smiled, "It's all right. I know all about crazy girls and their insane assumptions." She thought back to Alexandria, who'd decided to take it upon herself to single-handedly try to make Hikari's life miserable. Of course, when she was in California, Hikari had had Angela and Miranda to back her up. Here, she had no one. "When I was in America, I knew a girl who was a lot like Miyuki. She hated me—I never knew why—and she'd just pick fights with me, everyday. Nonstop. Me and my best friends. I gotta say, though, she never dumped a bucket of water on me. A soda, maybe, but never a bucket of water." Hikari's smile grew wider, and she rested her chin on her knees. "But it didn't hurt as much then, because I knew Angie and Miranda always had my back…" she trailed off.

Takeru completed her thought. "It's kind of difficult to form that same support system when you've only been here for two weeks."

Hikari's face brightened, and she straightened. "Yeah."

"It's hard being separated from your loved ones," Takeru nodded. "When my parents got divorced, I thought the world was over. If I didn't have my older brother's support during the whole ordeal, I think my world, at least, probably would have ended. Unfortunately, we don't talk much anymore, I almost never see my dad, and mom's always working, so believe me, I understand."

The sadness returned to her eyes as she slumped back over, her chin resting once again on her knees. "You may be the only one who does," she sighed.

* * *

"I can't believe her," Takeru complained as he glared at the corkboard posted in the entrance hallway to alert students of the happenings in the school. Takeru ripped off a flyer and crumpled it into a ball. He didn't need to read at it to know what it was; copies hung up all over school sporting a picture of Hikari leaning over a trashcan with the bold title: **DUMPSTER DIVING: Hikari's favorite pastime**. "When does she even find time to do this crap?" Ryuji shrugged as Takeru yanked another copy of the flyer off the wall. The two continued towards the door.

"Good news: at least we don't have practice today," Ryuji supplemented, trying to get Takeru's mind off a subject that clearly bothered him.

"Tch, yeah, I guess," Takeru replied. He tossed the wads of paper into the trash can as they paused at their shoe lockers and traded their slippers for white tennis. He glanced at his cell phone screen and then checked the room. Girls and boys busied themselves tying shoe laces and buckling straps on their shoes all carrying on energetic conversations with their friends about weekend plans. The unspoken consensus: "Thank goodness it's Friday." For two and half days, the prospects were endless. Speaking of endless prospects with friends, where were his? "Have you seen Akari, Toshi, or Daisuke? They said they would meet us here at half-past, it's nearly a quarter-till."

As if on cue, the three boys emerged from the hallway, Daisuke and Toshi stuck in a spirited discussion about soccer, while Akari trailed a tad behind sharing a few last minute words with his sister. Astonishingly, Akari's hair stood straight up from the crown of his head, brushed to the middle in a faux hawk, each section of hair brought to a perfect point. Takeru's jaw dropped, while Ryuji doubled over with laughter, his finger pointed straight at the dark-haired youth standing in the doorway.

"Ryuji, stop that," Takeru replied in slight disbelief. "You're drawing even more attention to him by pointing like that." But Ryuji couldn't help himself. "Did you just do that?" Takeru asked as Akari waved to his sister, and she broke off to join the group of girls waiting for her by her locker. Takeru looked shocked because he knew for a fact that Akari's hair had not looked like that thirty minutes ago.

Akari grinned and gently ran his hand along his hairline, brushing imaginary hairs from his face, clearly proud of his handiwork. "Yeah, you like it?"

"Yeah, looks great," Ryuji squeaked, clutching his stomach. Akari's grin widened and he gave Ryuji a head bob of acknowledgement, completely ignoring the fact that his friend now leaned against his locker cackling like a hyena.

"What? Did you bring a bottle of gel to school with you?" Takeru asked again as Akari opened his shoe locker and pulled out bright yellow Converses.

"Nah, I leave a jar in my desk," the dark-haired youth replied, putting on his shoes.

Takeru just shook his head. "You never cease to amaze me," he deadpanned, wondering why exactly he'd decided to befriend such a crazy person. With everyone ready and Ryuji finally able to breathe again, the five boys left the building, and cut across the campus as they usually did to reach the front gate. They were just passing the swimming pool when a voice called out to stop them.

"Takeru!" The fivesome pivoted and saw Miyuki running toward them, her gorgeous brown curls bouncing with every step. Takeru set his jaw, and eased his hands into his pockets as he leaned back slightly, assuming a relaxed pose. He bent his knee slightly and balanced his shoe on its toes as he waited for her to catch up.

"Hey, you guys go on," he stated, "I'll catch up." And though it was clear that they wanted to stay, reluctantly, they continued in their way. In the past, every time something like this had happened, Takeru had returned with extra baggage in tow—Miyuki, and she had then proceeded to ruin any Guys' Night In plans they had had with requests like grabbing coffee and going to the movies to meet up with her girlfriends. While they didn't mind occasionally, tonight they wanted to celebrate their first Friday free of basketball practice in weeks. The usually accommodating Takeru would let her butt in without a second thought; they'd wanted to be there to remind him of their plans should he forget, but alas, what could they do?

"Takeru," Miyuki sighed, her hair falling about her shoulders, framing her face perfectly as she flashed a mega watt smile in his direction. "You didn't wait after school, so I assumed you had basketball practice, but Coach told me you don't. I thought we could hang out today, maybe go on a date this evening."

His stomach knotted, and a familiar tense feeling settled in his gut. His muscles preparing to cramp the instant things went south. "I can't, Miyuki," Takeru replied. "The guys and I have plans for tonight."

Miyuki went on, undeterred. "Well, that's all right," she beamed. "The guys won't mind. I join your little guys' nights all the time, and they didn't even care."

For once in their relationship, Takeru didn't budge. "No, I'm busy tonight, I'm sorry." He made as if he was going to turn around, but she stopped him with a hand on his wrist. She tried to pull his hand from his pocket, but he held it firm. Miyuki looked up at his expressionless face, confused. Something was different.

"Takeru, what's wrong?" But he didn't reply, he merely looked over his shoulder to see how far his friends were getting ahead of him. Being the good people they were, they'd headed to the other end of the swimming pool and waited for him by a clump of trees, while still giving him plenty of privacy for his chat with the brunette. "Takeru, why won't you talk to me? I'm your girlfriend," she pried, resting her hand on his chest and reaching up to turn his face around so that she could kiss him.

"Are you?" he asked. His head whipped around so fast to face her, she faltered, and in that split second, she caught a look in his eyes that made her freeze. His eyes were intense, searching, but distant with a certain degree of frigidity in them.

She was taken aback, but tried to regain her composure by brushing off his concentrated gaze with a laugh, as sweet and bubbly as champagne. "Of course, I am, silly." She pulled him down and kissed him on the lips, but found herself further perplexed when he did not return the show of affection.

"Really?" he asked when she pulled away. His hands were still in his pockets, his leg still propped up on the toe of his shoe. The only difference was that now he leaned over slightly from where she pulled him down to kiss him. Beyond puzzled now, Miyuki opened her mouth to answer the question. She was so flustered she didn't even realize it had been rhetorical.

"Yes," she repeated, emphatically.

"You haven't been acting like it," the blond replied. The brunette felt as if she'd just been struck across the face. She gasped and sputtered, trying to comprehend from where these feelings might have been originating. "When did this relationship become so one-sided? I give and you take?"

"Takeru, what are you talking about?"

"You barge in on my plans with my friends, you have no regard for my schedule or my interests, and you take my affections completely for granted. No matter what happens, you _assume_ that I'll be the one to apologize because it's clearly my fault, but it's not. In the five months we've been together, you have never once expressed heartfelt appreciation for anything I've done for you. Not for the amount of money I've shelled out for clothes and food and concerts, not for the time I've taken out of other activities to spend with you, and not for the way I bend over backwards to make sure you're happy. And you've never apologized either. Do you realize that I failed Tuesday's math test because of you?"

"What?" Miyuki gasped, weakly. All this animosity. Where had it come from?

"I failed the math test, Miyuki. I might not pass the class. That test accounted for a sizable chunk of my average, and I failed it because I wasn't able to study Monday night. Do you even realize all the sacrifices I've made for you?"

"But you never told me about your test!"

Monday? Monday… Monday… And then it clicked. "Is this about last week? When we got into a fight about that movie? I'm sorry I made it so hard for you to apologize. I know I blew it completely out of proportion, I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you—"

"I don't want an apology, Miyuki. It's too late for that. It won't change anything," he replied evenly, staring at her. Those blue eyes she'd formerly found so warm and inviting were now cold, clearly shutting her out. He straightened.

"Then what do you want? What are you sayin—"

"I don't think we should see each other anymore." Miyuki almost doubled over. She felt as though he'd just landed a good sucker punch in her gut.

"What?" she rasped.

"I think we should break up, Miyuki," he repeated again, just as coldly. Even the second time around, she still couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth.

"But you never told me about your test!" she cried out, grasping at straws. Tears sprung to her eyes as she continued, "We could have worked something out with the teacher, she's perfectly reasonable. I could have helped you. You could have looked off my paper on Tuesday!"

"This isn't about the test, Miyuki."

"Then what is it about?" she half-yelled, half-sobbed. "Tell me, Takeru, what is this about?"

"This is about the side of you I always knew you had, but chose to ignore. Honestly, I don't know how I overlooked it this long, I wonder what that says about me, but I cannot condone the way you treat certain people. As if they're less than dirt, for no reason other than the fact that you can. You completely disregard the fact that they're humans with feelings just like you and me." He shook his head incredulously, as if he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it earlier. "I don't want to be around that anymore." He paused, letting her take it all in. He watched her a moment, but she didn't say anything and she didn't move. He assumed that meant she was okay with it and turned to head towards his friends. "I'm sorry."

He resisted the urge to smile. He didn't feel that stormy raincloud of doubt hanging over his head, and his stomach had unknotted itself and remained cramp free. He felt light on his feet. He grinned as he approached is friends who stared at him quizzically. "Ready to go? I'm ready to kick some ass in tennis."

Toshi snorted as he hiked his pack over his shoulder and the group continued towards the front gate. "Dream on, Takaishi. You're going down. And when I win, you and your toilet bowl are gonna get very well-acquainted while I wash that cocky attitude of yours down the drain." Despite the threat, Takeru laughed. Not because Toshi was getting far too into a game they hadn't even started yet, or because Ryuji was now poking fun at their dark-haired friend about his affinity for toilet bowl threats, but because for the first time in over a week, Takeru felt as though he'd finally done something right. He glanced at Akari. Judging from the small smile on Akari's lips and the slight nod of his head, he'd say his spiky-haired friend agreed.

* * *

The next morning, Takeru awoke to a pleasant surprise. His mother. In the kitchen. Cooking breakfast. The blond boy stood in the living room, his jaw flapping in the wind. Blearily, he screwed his eyes shut, rubbed them a few times, and then reopened them. His mother was still standing at the stove. Natsuko laughed.

"Okay, okay, I get it, son. I know I'm not home that often. Good morning to you too," she replied, pausing to take a sip from her coffee. "You look like you've just been struck by lightning," she added, referring to his bed head, which proudly pointed in every which direction.

"Eh?" Takeru blushed, looking up as if he could see the messy hair himself. He shook his head and ran a hand through it before entering the kitchen cautiously. "Oh no, that's not it. I just wasn't expecting to see you. I thought you were working on that big story about mob involvement with the previous election," he replied, grabbing at stool at the island counter.

"I am," she replied, simply. She lifted the pan and tipped several sausages onto a plate already half filled with eggs and a stack of pancakes. She placed the meal in front of him. "But there are no more leads, and right now I think I need to sort through the information I have," she continued, retrieving a glass from the cabinet and putting it on the counter as well. She poured him a cup of orange juice and slid the glass over to him. She grabbed her coffee cup and leaned on the island, watching her son as she tipped the steaming liquid into her mouth. She smacked her lips slightly before licking them to remove any lingering drops of coffee. "I may already have what I need to write the story," she finished.

"That's great, mom," Takeru replied, picking up a knife and fork and looking between the food and his mom in wonder. "So you think you'll be home more often now?"

Natsuko laughed again. "I hope so, baby. I hope so."

Good enough for him! He attacked his food mercilessly, shoveling it into his mouth as if he feared the plate would be snatched from him at any moment. He didn't stop until nothing but crumbs and syrup remained. Natsuko smiled as she lifted the plate and rinsed it off in the sink. "It's good to know my son still has his appetite."

Takeru returned the display of affection. "Yep. Don't think I could lose it if I tried." He slid off the seat and headed towards his room. "Anyway, thanks for breakfast, mom. I wish I could stay, but I've got to go meet a classmate to work on a school project. And then I might go to Yamato's house."

"Yamato? Are you two talking again?"

Takeru winced, thinking about the groveling he had planned for the afternoon. "Yeah, kind of," he said. Once in his room, he shed his pajama bottoms in favor of jeans, a tank, and a sleeveless zipper hoodie, grabbed his school bag, and left the apartment after kissing his mother goodbye. He stopped on the way to grab a cup of coffee (after making sure his not-so-secret admirer was nowhere in sight) and headed to the park, arriving with moments to spare before the arranged meeting time.

* * *

"You just missed him," Ms. Takaishi had told her when she'd knocked on Takeru's front door ten minutes previous. "He went to the park to meet a friend." In the five months she'd dated Takeru, she could count the number of times she'd seen his mother on one hand. For the second time in two days, Miyuki, who never stuttered or lost track of her thoughts for any other reason than a shoe sale at the mall, faltered, thrown off by the blonde woman standing where she'd been expecting her boyfriend. Sure he'd insisted an "ex" should be thrown in front of that title when she'd called him last night, but clearly he hadn't been feeling well. A minor 24-hour bug that should have passed by now, meaning he'd be talking sense again.

Still, she'd charmed his mother as much as she could in the limited time she had to spare and then dashed off to meet him. She'd been up since the crack of dawn, planning what she was going to wear and say, fixing her hair and makeup, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. There was no way anyone could turn her down when she looked this good. She nodded, renewed confidence flooding through her veins.

She found him sitting on a bench drinking coffee, reading a book of poetry. She sighed, inwardly. That was so like him; to appear so studious and intelligent while reading poems under the shaded protection of a weathered tree. The soul of a writer, she concluded, allowing her hand to rest on her heart a moment longer before she approached. "Takeru," she called.

He lowered the book and turned. "Miyu," he gasped, standing. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I just thought we could talk. Clearly you weren't feeling well yesterday—" she began, but Takeru cut her off.

"There's nothing to talk about, Miyuki. It's just as I told you on the phone last night. We're over."

"But how can you say that?" the brunette asked, stepping closer and grasping his tee shirt with her small hands. Her heart pounded in her chest as her eyes began to water. "We were doing so well together, and then, all of the sudden, completely out of the blue, you want to end it. What's really going on here, Takeru?"

"There's nothing going—"

"Please tell me, Takeru," she begged, clutching his shirt tighter. "Because I don't understand. I thought we were perfect together." She began to cry, tears cascading down her cheeks like a broken waterfall.

"I thought so too. But we all make mistakes, Miyuki." He felt terrible. He hadn't expected her to cling to their relationship so hard, yet despite the tears twisting his stomach into knots again, he remained sure he'd made the right decision. Still, he wondered if perhaps he was being a bit too cruel. "We just aren't as well suited as we thought we were," he added, hoping to cushion the blow.

But it didn't work. "Mistake? You think we were a mistake?"

Before he could answer, another voice sliced through their conversation. "Sorry, I'm late!" it called. They paused and glanced in the direction of the new arrival. Hikari jogged towards them. A soft, bitter laugh brought Takeru's attention back to the situation at hand.

"I get it," she said, softly. "I see what this is about. This is about Hikari, isn't it?"

"What? Miyu, no."

Miyuki wasn't listening. She laughed again, angrily this time, taking measured, deep breaths and wagging her finger into space, as if she were chastising a mischievous little kid. "This is about that damn slut, Hikari."

Takeru grabbed her shoulders and spun the brunette around to face him, shaking her softly. "Miyuki, leave her out of this. This is about you and me. No one else." She nodded like she understood, but he had the sinking feeling that she did not.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Hikari asked, stopping several feet away, ready to back away if necessary. At the sound of her voice, Miyuki's head snapped around to face her. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at her with such ferocity, Hikari half believed the skin was about to melt off her face. Without a word, Miyuki yanked herself from Takeru's grasp and stormed from the park the way she'd come. She didn't look back.

Hikari bit her lip and sighed. "Why do I suddenly get the feeling that my life's about to become a million times worse?"

Takeru groaned, miserably, "I'm sorry."

**o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to _cancercute_,_ TheSlyFoxofPeanutButterness_, _joeshen_, _penguindan333_, _magical miracle_, _KHgatomon3444_, _The True One-Winged Angel_, _authorgal282_, _Personnh_, _LoneWolfVampire13_, _Kari King Takaishi_, _Catching Rain_, _musiclover9419_, _Pebbles_, _Final Genesis_, _Aster Selene_, _twiinklestar_, _butterflyangellover14_, _Shire Folk_, and _Takerus Lost Angel_. You guys are awesome.

**joeshen:** Yes, the hustle and bustle of life and I are well acquainted. And yeah, I understand what you mean about the introduction of Fumi. When I planned that chapter out a year ago, I had a specific idea in mind, but unfortunately, I didn't write it down and forgot it. As for TK and Miyuki, thank you so much for that amazing compliment. For the reader to be able to picture the scene has always been my goal, but I worry I usually fail spectacularly at achieving it. That you could picture it totally makes my day.

I apologize for the end of the previous chapter. It was plagued with spelling errors and whatnot. I reread the previous chapter in preparation for this one and was completely appalled. It's probably safe to say that both reasons had a little something to do with it too.

**Shire Folk:** Yeah, I know what you mean about Miyuki and Miyako. I didn't really pay much attention in the first chapter, but as you've probably since, I've mixed up their names in the chapters as well, sometimes, which is really bad. Maybe I'll just start referring to Miyako as Yolei. And I also understand your drift about the makeout scene. It was definitely heading in that direction, but that was intentional, and I'm hoping, as the story goes on, its purpose will become clearer. If not, I've failed. Haha, but what else is new?

**twiinklestar:** -joins twiinklestar in the background with a Team Akari t-shirt- WHOO! I SO AGREE! –tries to do a toe touch and fails miserably- As for Yamato, you'll just have to wait and see~ And the musical will be in here too… if I can ever decide what musical they'll be doing.

**Aster Selene:**I have no idea. We'll just pretend it works. ;]

**Pebbles:** Oh my goodness, your review made me laugh so hard! But it's been so long. D: I hope you aren't still in jail if your plans went a little _too_ well. What happened? Did you get the chance to do your little scenarios? I'm hooked! Tell me, tell me, tell me! And I definitely agree with you on the boy/girlfriend thing. That's how I think relationships should work. If I ever have time for a boyfriend, I hope I can say the same thing about mine that you said about yours. (Side note: This is the longest, comprehensive review I've ever read. Joeshen came in a close second.)

**Kari King Takaishi:** I'm sorry. I totally failed on the update faster thing. I'm setting a goal: two weeks from the time I return from Italy. Hope I succeed!

**LoneWolfVampire13:** I agree. Takeru should grow a pair. As for the cramps, it's something to that effect.

**Personnh:** Bah, I'm so sorry you thought the chapter was weaker. I hope this one's better. I probably was distracted a bit, but who knows? It was four months ago. Though, now that I think about it, I started cutting a bunch of stuff out in the middle because the chapter was getting to long and I didn't want to split it again. Maybe that's why? In any case, I hope this one is better.

_**Preview of chapter 8:** Miyuki's sister Natsue steps in to keep Miyuki from completely self-destructing. Hikari and Miyako make the acquaintance of Ken Ichijouji, and learn the location of Takeru's place of employment, much to his dismay._

Look forward to it!


	8. Chapter 8: A Tale of 2 Xs

Friday, July 10, 2009

Edited: Tuesday, December 28, 2010

_**In the previous chapter: **Takeru broke it off with Miyuki, and Miyuki blames Hikari, much to Hikari's horror._

This chapter was partly inspired by **"7 Things"** by **Miley Cyrus**. Before we begin, I have a few things I want to make note of before I forget:

1) The italicized quotes could be confusing, but I think they're fairly self-explanatory. Don't try to figure out who's speaking, because it doesn't matter.

2) This chapter could get confusing because there were a lot of time jumps. The first portion takes place on Friday (it's a memory). After that italicized portion, we jump to Saturday where Chapter 7 left off, the section after that (the italicized quotes) takes place on Monday, and the rest of the chapter, starting with Miyu's mom is Tuesday.

3) This chapter is extremely long. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Digimon… You'd think my lawyers would have won our case against the original creators by now.

And with that, let's jump right in!

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 8:

**A Tale of Two Exes and the Reluctant Third Wheel**

**

* * *

**

_"What's the matter with you? You look like you just got dumped," a voice said. Miyuki turned from where she'd been watching TK walk away with his friends. Yumi strolled towards her, a smirk plastered across her face. She stopped and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at the brunette confrontationally. "Of course," she added, "it could just be that trashy make up you're wearing. You look like you belong on a street corner in the red-light district."_

_ Miyuki stared at her blankly. "Huh?" Shocked by what had just occurred, it took Miyuki a moment to pick up on the situation. For a split second, Todo Miyuki looked lost. Then she caught on and crossed her arms as well, snorting. "Oh please, Yumi. Don't try to distract people from your out-of-season accessories. Everyone knows loose socks and rolled skirts are _so _last year."_

_ Yumi sneered at her. "Bug off, slut. My fashion sense is a thousand times better than yours. Why don't you run off and go cry to the lapdog of a boyfriend of yours, eh?" She called sarcastically over her shoulder as she began to move away, "Have a good weekend." She raised her hand in farewell and moved to join her friends._

_ Miyuki felt as if she'd been slapped. Yumi had knocked her off balance at the mention of Takeru, the image of his back walking away from her popping instantly into her mind again. But wait! That slimy whore was getting away. Miyuki had to have the last word. Her mind spun and reeled, helplessly. She had to think of something, but she couldn't focus. From the depths of her confused mind, she pulled the only insult she could and hurled it at Yumi's retreating figure. "Go die in a fire somewhere, Miyamoto!" That was it? That was all she could think of?_

_ The reply came faster than Miyuki expected. "Go jump off a cliff, Todo."_

_ What? How could she think that fast? Miyuki struggled with something else to say, but nothing came. All she could do was watch as Yumi walked away, her mouth opening and closing uselessly._

_

* * *

_

The screams echoed through the empty house as a glass sailed through the air and shattered seemingly effortlessly against the wall. Without pausing for a breath, the girl grabbed whatever was in her reach and flung it across the room. Pillows, stuffed animals, vases, shoes. She didn't care anymore. How could he?

She paused, her eyes flashing to the one remaining item on her desk. A photograph of the two of them at an amusement park. She picked it up and examined it a moment, a few tears dropping onto the glassy surface. She wiped it clean. _How could he?_ A strangled sob wrenched itself from her throat. Quickly, she placed the picture frame back on the desk and doubled over, burying her face in her hands. She stayed like that a while, the tears dripping onto the floor between her fingers, the cries so violent and drawn out, she had to gasp for air between each one. Not sure why she tried though. What did it matter anymore?

_ How could he?_

All at once, the despair turned to anger as rage bubbled up in her chest. She let out a scream, if it could be called that. It sounded more like a guttural yell than anything else; so unladylike, but to hell with that. She didn't care. Blindly, she grabbed at bottles and trays and flung them to the floor. Perfumes he'd given her, necklaces he hadn't, mirrors and trinkets. They cracked and broke upon impact, each noise of destruction giving her a sick feeling of satisfaction. She'd never forgive him. She'd never forgive him! Who did he think he was? With a yell of fury, she pushed the dresser over and listened with relish to loud crash it made when it hit the floor. It didn't break like she'd hoped, but the sound had been enough.

She crossed the room in quick strides, grabbing for her bed sheets, preparing to rip them off and fling them somewhere. She closed her hands on the fabric and instantly jerked them back as she felt a sharp pain in her palm. She turned her hand over to examine the cause. A piece of glass protruded from her palm surrounded by several other smaller cuts. She glanced back at the bed and saw the top of a vase, still mostly intact, lying in the center of the bed. It had been a beautiful vase once. Perfect in every way. Coveted, expensive, crafted with extreme care and tenderness—it was one of a kind. Tears sprung to her eyes again.

Okay, so maybe it was crazy to compare her relationship to a vase but it was true. They'd been perfect together. That's why she didn't understand! Angrily, ignoring the glass on the bed, she grabbed the sheets and yanked, sending glass shards flying everywhere, releasing the sheets mid throw so that they flew a few feet and fluttered to the ground. She watched the top of the vase as it moved elegantly through the air towards its ultimate demise. It struck the top of the desk and shattered. Right next to her photograph. It was oddly fitting.

Clumsily, she pulled the glass from her palm, cutting her other fingers in the process and discarded it carelessly to the side. The sickly sweet, jumbled smell of several perfumes met her nostrils, making her stomach churn unhappily. She suddenly felt a need to puke.

She turned away in distress and staggered through the destroyed room haphazardly. Blood from the cuts on her hands stained the carpet, forming a path of breadcrumbs to the corner she ultimately collapsed in, thrusting her back roughly against the wall and letting her legs give way beneath her so that she slid down the length of the wall to the floor, her hands covering her face again as she gave way to sobs.

_How could you do this to me?_ She peered through her fingers at the room. Nothing was standing. All torn down and broken, just as he'd done to her. Everything, that is, but that photograph, surrounded by pieces of the vase as if they were sacrificial offerings to what used to be. The image blurred out of existence in a wave of hot, salty tears. _I hate you._

_

* * *

_

_"Miyuki's not here? Hey, Miyuki's not here."_

_ "She's not? I hope she's okay."_

_ "You think she's sick?"_

_ "Haven't you heard? Miyuki and TK got in a fight."_

_ "What? No way."_

_ "They broke up."_

_ "No way! Are you serious?"_

_ "Yeah, Sachiko said she saw them get in this huge fight."_

_ "During swim practice, Miyuki was yelling at him. I couldn't hear what she said, but I bet she was dumping him."_

_ "I heard he dumped her."_

_ "No way. No one dumps Miyuki. She's Miyuki."_

_ "Miyuki's a bitch. Anyone with half a brain would have dumped her long ago. TK's just an idiot."_

_ "Yumi said they broke up because Takeru didn't want to sleep with her."_

_ "I don't think so. Miyu's implied they've been together a lot."_

_ "Psst, hey. There he is."_

_ "He's been happy lately. Not like someone who's just recently been dumped."_

_ "I bet it's because he's dating that Hikari girl now. He already had some other girl lined up."_

_ "What a slime."_

_ "I heard that Hikari has been sleeping with him and she got mad because he wouldn't take her out on dates and threatened to tell Miyuki what they'd been doing if he didn't break it off with her." _

_ "I saw them in the park together Saturday morning."_

_ "They were just working on Kuriyama's comp project."_

_ "Oh yeah. I was there when Mr. Kuriyama assigned the partners. Miyuki was _pissed _she and Takeru weren't together." _

"_I would be too. I can't believe Hikari's only been here three weeks and she's already dating the star basketball player. Who moves that fast?"_

_ "Stupid, Hikari and TK aren't dating."_

_ "I don't know. She looks pretty satisfied with herself if you ask me."_

_ "Satisfied? She looks sad to me."_

_ "I bet TK felt guilty after he broke up with Miyuki and dumped her too."_

_ "She's such a whore—"_

_ "Shhhh, here she comes."_

_

* * *

_

Footsteps out in the hallway reminded the girl that there was life outside her room. _Sadly_, she thought. They paused outside her door and after a moment were followed by a hesitant knock. "Miyuki?" a tentative voice called softly through the door. Her mother. Bloodshot eyes opened slowly, blinking to readjust to the dark. Involuntarily, they shifted in the direction of the photograph. A ray of sun glanced right over the frame as it did every morning. Another knock and the door opened slightly, a slant of light from the hallway slashing across the floor.

The room looked as though it had been struck by a bomb. Though it was morning out, the room was dark save for a few stray rays of sun, faintly illuminating the mess on the floor, and now the light from the hallway. Everything was just as it had been left Saturday afternoon. Shattered, overturned, and in some cases, irreparable. Fortunate her mom hadn't opened the door enough to see anything. Listening to her bellyaching might have pushed the brunette over the edge. Miyuki remained just where she'd collapsed as well, unwilling to move. Her knees were pulled to her, legs crossed at the ankle. Her injured hand was tucked between her legs and her stomach, while the other was propped up on her knee, her face buried in its palm. What was the point? Nothing could ease this pain in her chest. He'd said he loved her. Hadn't he meant it? Tears welled up in her eyes again, as they always did when she thought of him, and spilled down her cheeks. Hadn't he meant it?

She blinked rapidly, partly to attempt to disperse the tears and partly in an attempt to soothe the stinging in her eyes. Traces of mascara streaks and smudged makeup were all over her face. A breakout was flaring up on her forehead and cheeks, reminders that she hadn't washed her face since Saturday morning and that the makeup she'd applied was still there, choking her pores. Aside from the ratty appearance of her face, her hair was stringy and dirty and she smelled like garbage, having not moved to bathe for days. A few stubborn curls tried to make themselves known, but their pathetic attempts succeeded in doing little other than making her hair look even more matted and disgusting. Her "cutest" outfit—a Yuki Ikamori dress, without a doubt the best article of clothing she owned—was ruined, stained with black drops of mascara and red drops of blood. It seemed fitting that it be destroyed along with everything else.

"Miyuki," her mother repeated. "Will you be going to school today?" Miyuki didn't answer, she didn't move. She hardly breathed. "I know you're upset, Miyuki, darling, but I wish you'd at least come down and eat. You haven't had any food or water for days, dear. Aren't you hungry?" Again she was met with silence. A silence that seemed to pain her more than anything else. "I hear you crying sometimes when I walk by. I wish you'd tell me what's bothering you, dear. We could talk about it." No response. "I'm worried about you, sweetie. And so is Natsue, even more so because you won't eat. Please come down and eat _something_." Even still, Miyuki did not feel inclined to answer. So she hadn't eaten in a while. She wasn't hungry anymore. Though she understood that her mother was worried, more than anything, she just wanted to be left alone. And if she starved to death, so be it. At least she'd have been released from her misery. Disheartened (Miyuki could tell from the heavy sigh she let out), her mother closed the door and shuffled away.

_Thank you_, she thought.

* * *

Natsue Todo stood in the kitchen glaring at the clock. An hour ago, Vesta Todo had returned from her morning visit to Miyuki's room in tears. Forty-five minutes ago, Natsue, like the good daughter she was, had convinced Vesta to go out for a relaxing day with friends to take her mind off everything. Forty minutes ago, Natsue, after seeing her mother off, had decided to let Miyuki have her space for the third day in a row. All she needed was time, her brain stressed. Thirty minutes ago, she'd changed her mind, writing that explanation off as a bunch of crap. What Miyuki needed was an intervention, and that's exactly what Natsue was going to give her. Twenty-nine minutes ago, Natsue had started making phone calls.

"Thank you for working us in on such short notice," Natsue said into the phone. "I really appreciate it. Have a good day."

She hung the phone up and slammed her coffee cup onto the counter, startling the maid tidying the kitchen behind her. Without a word, Natsue turned and stormed from the room, ignoring the maid's questions about whether everything was all right. She stomped up the steps and down the hall to Miyuki's room, twisting the door handle and flinging the door open. It slammed loudly against the wall as Natsue stepped inside the room and flicked on the light. She paused and took in the state of the room in seconds, before locating her sister in the corner.

"Miyuki, get up!"

Miyuki, who'd jumped at the sudden intrusion and cringed at the light, glared at her irritably from her corner. Natsue simply crossed her arms and stood her ground. "Miyuki, I don't know what happened, but I will not allow you to upset mother like this any further. Get up now, or I'm going to come over there and make you." Miyuki said nothing, praying against all odds that her silence would convince her sister to go away like it did for her soft-hearted mother, but Natsue, who was extremely willful, much like Miyuki herself, didn't budge. She waited a moment and then crossed the room without a word, wrinkling her nose as she grew close to the brunette in the corner.

"You smell like a garbage disposal. First order of business is a bath! This is unacceptable regardless of the circumstance," Natsue replied, leaning down and hooking her arms under Miyuki's armpits. Miyuki clamped her arms down and pulled herself down, trying to make it harder for Natsue to disturb her. She'd been determined to keep her silence, but with Natsue, if she didn't say something, the girl would go on doing as she pleased.

"Natsue, stop!" Miyuki exclaimed. Her voice came out croaky and quiet, husky after unuse. "Please, I just need to be left alone."

"No," Natsue replied, forcefully, yanking Miyuki up onto her knees and then finally wrestling the girl to her feet. "What you _need_ is some serious retail therapy. And a major shower." Encouraged that she'd gotten the younger girl to her feet, Natsue started to drag her towards the bathroom when Miyuki suddenly slumped, converting every ounce that she had into dead weight. Natsue dropped her, and she made a break for the corner.

"If you insist on acting like a child, you'll be treated as one!" Natsue exclaimed, aggravated. She placed her hands firmly under Miyuki's armpits again and dragged her to the bathroom, turning on the water and working on fighting Miyuki out of her dress.

Miyuki's face flushed red with embarrassment. "Natsue!" she roared. "I'm perfectly capable of taking off my own clothes and taking a shower. Get out!"

"I'm sure you are," Natsue replied, calmly, pulling the Yuki Ikamori dress over Miyuki's head and tossing it in the garbage. "We'll have to get a replacement for that dress, because it looked really cute on you. Oh?" she asked, catching sight of Miyuki's scabs. "And what the hell have you done to your hands? Look, they're all infected. Now we'll have to go to the doctor. I thought I saw blood in there on the carpet. Come on, get in the shower." Fully undressed, Natsue shoved her sister under the stream of (too) hot water, grabbed the soap and started scrubbing, first under her arms, then her chest and torso, followed by her back and legs. Grabbing Miyuki's container of face wash off the counter, she squirted the grapefruit-scented gel into her hands, rubbed them together and attacked Miyuki's face with them, scrubbing off the impurities with a wash cloth.

Miyuki felt like she was six again, but she couldn't convince Natsue to leave, because Natsue knew her sister well enough to know that as soon as she left the room, Miyuki was going right back into the corner. She sighed. It would be nice to smell human again though, especially since she didn't have to put in any of the work. After making sure no area had been missed, Miyuki rinsed herself off and stepped from the shower into Natsue's waiting toweled arms. Patting Miyuki dry, Natsue dragged the girl from the bathroom to her closet and made her stand there, while Natsue picked out an outfit—a sundress mini, gladiator sandals, and an assortment of bangles and bracelets. She dressed the younger girl and guided her back to the bathroom where she put on Miyuki's face for her. She then attacked Miyuki's hands with alcohol, washing them clean and wrapping them with bandages.

"Finished," she sighed, straightening from where she'd been taping the gauze. She grabbed her sister and spun her around so that she was facing the mirror. "See that? See how much better you look?" Miyuki looked, and she saw. She did indeed look better, fresh-faced, clean, put together. Like she used to. She glanced at Natsue's face in the mirror to find her older sister smiling back at her, warmly. She was about to tear up again when Natsue turned her back around and took to dabbing her lips with lip gloss.

"Now listen," she said. "From your earlier state, I'd say you're having boy troubles. Am I right?" Miyuki nodded mutely. "I'm guessing you've just broken up?" Miyuki nodded again. "Well, whoever he was just made the worst mistake of his life," Natsue assured her with a smile. "But how do you plan to win him back when you smell like a farm and look like crap? When you look good, you feel good. So here's what we're going to do today. I'm taking you to get pampered. The spa for massages, facials, and manipedis; the hair salon for a new haircut; the tan salo to spruce up your tan—that'll be quick, we don't want you to get dark like one of those _ganguros_," she emphasized, disdain practically dripping off the word. She continued, "And then to the shops to do some major credit card damage. My one rule for the day is that you are not allowed to mention, talk, or even think about this dumbass that dumped you, which means crying is prohibited. There will be plenty of time for that later when we lard around eating junk food and watching sad movies. Got it?" Miyuki nodded a third time, awed that her sister had already planned the day out in such detail. Natsue beamed at her. She brushed Miyuki's hair back into a ponytail, working out the tangles and the curls so that it looked somewhat decent, and then pinned back her bangs. "Good, then let's go."

* * *

Hikari sighed and collapsed on the couch melodramatically. She sank into the soft cushions heavily, welcoming the sensation of almost being swallowed up. "I'm so glad school's over," she moaned, flinging a hand over her face. "I don't think I can take the gawking and whispering anymore."

Miyako smiled sympathetically from where she stood at the entrance to the Yagami living room. "It's hard being the center of attention, especially when you're sharing the spotlight with Miyuki."

Hikari pushed herself up onto her elbows and nodded. "That's for sure." Her eyes widened when she realized Miyako hadn't sat down yet. "Oh! Miyako, please make yourself at home. I've been a terrible host. Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked, getting off the couch. Hesitantly, Miyako considered the plush chair she stood beside before scooting around to the front of the chair and carefully lowering herself into the cushion. Hikari couldn't help but laugh. "It won't bite you, Miyako!" Miyako's face flushed with embarrassment.

"So what can I get you? We've got water, milk, juice, and these gross vitamin shake things my mom insists make your body stronger." She ticked off each item off on her fingers as she mentioned it. "I think we may have some soda too."

"Um…water sounds great," Miyako replied, meekly.

"Water? You got it," Hikari replied, heading around the couch and passing through the dining room to the kitchen in the back. She hummed softly as she pulled the glass down from the cabinet and filled the cup with the cool, clear liquid. It felt great to be in friendly company again. Something had changed since Friday and somehow Hikari had been dragged right in the middle of it.

_The water felt wonderful. After the humiliation of the morning, Hikari had worried that she wouldn't want to get near any large collection of water, less she experience a repeat see-through shirt incident, but now she knew she needn't have bothered wasting her time with such supercilious concerns. Being in the familiar again was just what she needed to deal with the unfamiliar territory in which she was treading. Sure, she'd experienced girls like Miyuki before. Alexandria had come up with all sorts of ridiculous ways to try and make Hikari's life hell back in America, but Alexandria had just done it because she disliked Hikari and her friends. Not because she believed one of them was trying to steal her boyfriend. For that reason, Hikari assumed, Miyuki's attacks were much more vicious than Alexandria's had been. And, of course, it didn't help that she didn't have Angela and Miranda for backup._

_ The shrill whistle sliced through the air with measured precision. So piercing its sound, even with her ears clogged with water, the brunette could still hear it loud and clear. She stopped floating, allowing her bottom to sink down into the water as she righted herself and paddled leisurely towards the wall. Coach wanted to do a few warm up heats in the lanes and she was starting with the end of the alphabet, which meant Hikari would be first. Nodding, she pulled herself up out of the pool and climbed onto her starting block. The sun was out, shining brightly, warming the late summer air. A short blow on the whistle alerted the swimmers it was time to prepare, while another longer blow told them to start the heat._

_ After swimming the customary 200 meter warm up, Hikari joined Miyako on the bleachers, wrapping herself in a towel while she waited for the others to finish up. A sudden wave of hushed voices and giggles swept over the group of girls seated on the metal benches._

_ "Look over there. Isn't that Takeru?"_

_ "Who's that with him?"_

_ "Miyuki, of course."_

_ Against her better judgment, Hikari looked. The two seemed embroiled in a serious conversation. The kind of conversation that requested a measure of privacy._

_ "I wish I could hear what they're talking about. Probably making plans for tonight, don't you think?"_

_ "I don't know about that. I can't really see their faces that well, but I can tell you I don't see any smiles." From Miyuki's emphatic hand gestures, Hikari concluded they were probably in some sort of fight. She turned away, feeling rude._

_ "Guys, don't stare," she said, resting her chin in her hands. "Give them some privacy."_

_ "Privacy?" a girl with dark brown hair named Sachiko from the class next to Hikari's asked. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to what they're talking about?"_

_ "No, I'm not," Hikari replied. "And you shouldn't be either. It's none of you guys' business." She had almost convinced her teammates to stop being goosegogs when a sudden outburst from Miyuki drew their attention and they went back to their spying activities. Hikari looked too. More startled and worried than curious. Was everything all right? Had something happened to one of them? But when Hikari saw Miyuki's slumped, defeated posture, she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding again. The girl was clearly upset, and Takeru was just walking away, back towards his friends waiting for him by the trees._

_ "Oooh, what do you think just happened?"_

_ "Oh my god, they got in a fight. That's so weird. They never get in fights. They're always so happy together."_

_ "Not true. From what I heard, they got in a fight last Friday too and Takeru didn't call her all weekend."_

_ "Damn, Friday just isn't their day, huh?"_

_ But Hikari had a sinking feeling it was more than just a regular fight. Miyuki had looked too upset for that to be the only thing bothering her. Something major had happened. When she glanced at Miyako, she could see her friend felt the same way._

_

* * *

_

As it turned out, Hikari had been right. It was much more than just a fight. Pouring a glass of juice for herself, Hikari took the two drinks back into the family room and handed the water to Miyako, sitting stiffly in the reading chair she'd taken a seat in.

"Miyako, relax. We're not greeting royalty tonight, I promise," Hikari replied.

Miyako jumped and took the water. "Thanks. And it's not that, I just… I've never been to your house before. In fact, I didn't even know you lived in a house! It's so beautiful. I don't want to mess anything up."

"House or not, people live here and things are bound to be ruined. Don't worry about it," Hikari grinned. Miyako smiled back. "So anyway, what did you want to do today?"

The lilac-haired girl shrugged and took a gulp of her water. "I'm up for anything really."

"Really? Would you mind accompanying me while I look for a job?"

"Sure!" Miyako brightened. "Actually, I need a job too. I've been buying so many CDs and such lately, that my allowance can't take the strain anymore and mom's simply not willing to give me any more money."

Hikari laughed. "So it works out then. My mom's been riding me about getting a job since we came to Japan. Something about 'birthing responsibilities in today's teenagers' or something like that." Miyako nodded seriously. "Hmm, I don't really want to go job hunting in my uniform though. Why don't we change before we go? You can borrow some of my clothes if you like."

* * *

"That last store looked pretty good, huh?" Hikari emphasized as she crossed her arms loosely across her abdomen. After much discussion, she had finally settled on a heather gray jersey top, which could be worn two ways. She chose to wear it off the shoulder on her left side, exposing part of her collarbone as it swooped across her chest. She'd belted it, bringing the length up a little so that it hit just above mid-thigh. To complete the look, she'd put on long black leggings that stopped just at her ankle and selected a pair of black and white ballet flats to tie the outfit all together. Miyako had gone for an even more casual look. A long graphic tee featuring the name of a band that, according to Hikari, was quite popular in America, a pair of slim-fitting (on Miyako anyway), dark-wash jeans, and a pair of white, flat slouch boots worn mostly to hide the awkward place in which the denim hem hit on her legs, considering Miyako was taller than Hikari.

"Mm-hmm," Miyako nodded. "And I saw some cute things in there. I could use the discount to buy them. Yep, definitely had potential."

"_Potential?_" Hikari blurted, incredulously. "Miyako, why don't you just admit it? You want to work at a music store. We've gone into so many amazing clothing and makeup stores today and not one of them has impressed you enough to want to fill out an application."

"A begger can't pick and choose," Miyako recited, though a hint of color had rushed to her cheeks.

"Well you are one high-maintenance beggar than, my dear friend," Hikari snickered.

"I'm not being that picky!" the bespectacled girl defended herself.

"Sure, sure. Tomorrow, after school, we're going to Shibuya to get you some applications from a few of the choice music meccas they have there. Pretend all you want, but I know what you like."

Miyako smiled. This was supposed to be about Hikari finding a job, not Miyako, but the brunette had instantly incorporated her into the whole process, determined to help Miyako find a job before she took one herself. "Thanks. That sounds great."

Hikari grinned as they crossed the street into the park. "Mind you, you can't take this long to find a place you want to work. I've got to be back at school by 5:45 for sports fest practice." The sound of yells and laughter wafted through the air.

"Beehive, watch where you're going!" a voice exclaimed.

"Move it or lose it, pansy!" a familiar voice replied. The two girls paused a minute and turned to see the source. A group of boys involved in an intense game of soccer, half wearing shirts, the other half not. Though they were smiling and joking with each other, Hikari could tell both teams wanted to win.

"Hey, I think that's Akari over there," Miyako said squinting and pointing at pair of trees several hundred feet away.

Hikari squinted with her, shielding her eyes from the setting sun. "I think you're right. These guys are pretty good." In particular, two players= caught her eye. A shirtless brown haired boy she could recognize as Daisuke, evidently affectionately named 'Beehive' by his soccer friends, and a blue haired boy, fully clothed, who was running along the length of their makeshift field trying to get at the ball by tripping up Daisuke. 'Beehive' grunted, bashed into the blue-haired boy and made his shot. It sailed easily between the two trees they'd been using as goal posts and headed straight towards the girls, hitting the ground and bouncing the rest of the way to where they stood. Miyako knelt to pick up the ball.

"Oh, hey, Hikari! Who's your friend?" Daisuke greeted as he jogged up to them to retrieve the ball.

"Hi," Hikari smiled. "This is Miyako."

"Nice to meet you," Miyako said, holding the ball out to him. "But we've kind of met before."

Daisuke looked puzzled a minute as he accepted the ball and muttered a word of thanks. "Have we…? Oh wait, I think you're right. Yeah. You were with Akari that one day, right? Then it's great to see you again. I didn't know you were friends with Hikari. Miyako, you're a third-year, right? How'd you two meet?"

Miyako nodded. "Yep. We met at swim team tryouts."

"Well, before that," Hikari corrected. "In the nurse's office."

"Oh yeah? I'd totally forgotten about that," the older girl laughed.

The boys in the game, curious to know what was taking Daisuke so long to get the ball called out to him. "Oi, Daisuke! Hurry up and bring back the ball!"

"Yeah, taking your time won't help you beat us, you primadonna!"

"Shut up!" Daisuke yelled over his shoulder. "You pansies don't do anything. If it weren't for Ken, we'd be mopping the floor with you guys."

"If you're gonna gab with your girl friends, throw us the ball and we'll go on without you!" another boy taunted.

"Hey, who's that you're talking to?" a bare-chested boy Hikari just noticed and identified as Ryuji called.

"It's Hikari and her friend, Miyako!" Daisuke returned.

"Hey guys, let's take a break," Ryuji suggested as he jogged over to the pile of shirts waiting under a tree and rooted around to find his. Reluctantly, the boys agreed and shuffled off to the side to drink swigs of water from water bottles or from the water fountain not too far away from their selected playing spot. Akari joined him from way on the other side of the field, grabbing his shirt and pulling it on over his head as Ryuji snatched his and the two boys jogged towards them. The blue haired boy followed.

"Hey," Ryuji smiled as they slowed. He still had his shirt off. He'd been letting it swing loosely in his hand as he came over to join them. He turned the shirt rightside-out and pulled it on over his head, obscuring the view of his sculpted chest. Hikari blushed.

"Hi. You guys are pretty good out there," she added. "Daisuke, you've got a mean kick."

"Oh, thanks." He rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"You too," she added, glancing at the blue-haired boy waiting silently behind Daisuke. "I haven't seen you play that much, but you definitely have the speed."

"Thank you, Miss…" the boy replied.

"Oh! I'm sorry," Daisuke apologized, quickly. "I haven't introduced you guys. This is Ichijouji Ken. Ken, this is my classmate, Yagami Hikari, and her friend, Miyako."

"Inoue Miyako," Miyako clarified, leaning forward slightly. "Ichijouji Ken... Weren't you on that soccer team...what's it called? Domachi? Tamacha?"

Ken laughed. "Tamachi? Yes, I was. That was a long time ago though."

Miyako nodded. "Yeah, that was it. My sisters really liked you. Watched every game of yours they could. Anyway, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Seconded," Hikari piped up, holding her hand out for Ken to shake. The group of Japanese teenagers stared at it a minute in silence until Ken, finally, accepted the hand, shaking it firmly.

"Okay, guys, why the judgment?" she asked, trying to keep the heat from her cheeks. "You guys shake hands here, don't you?" she stammered.

"Shake hands?" Ryuji asked. "As in…" He held his hand out to Akari and Akari grasped it firmly, giving it a strong shake.

"Duh. Isn't that what I just did?" Hikari nodded.

"Er… _we_ don't. Our dads do," Ryuji responded.

"In business meetings," Daisuke added.

"Too formal, then?" Hikari mumbled.

"At least among friends," Ryuji said, sidling up to her and throwing his arms around her shoulders. Her heart leapt into her throat as color rushed to her cheeks. She looked away, her face burning.

Ken laughed again. "It's quite all right. You say 'here' as if you're from somewhere else."

"Yeah, I just moved back from America."

"Really? America?" Ken repeated, his eyebrows rising. "That's a long way from here. What brought you back?"

"My dad's job. Same thing that took us over there. I was born in Japan. We moved right after my first grade year," Hikari replied.

"Oh, that's really cool," Ken nodded.

"Hey, you big-haired numbskull! Give us the ball!" one of the boys interrupted loudly in their direction. After their quick five-minute water break, the guys were ready to get back into the game. They didn't have all the time in the world, after all. It was almost time for dinner.

"Try not to trip catching it, sissy boy!" Daisuke shot back as he turned and dropped the ball from his grasp, sending it sailing towards the group of waiting guys with a swift kick. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," the girls shrugged.

"So, what are you two up to?" Ryuji asked. "You both look really nice, dressed up like that and all. Any special reason?"

"Special reason?" Hikari asked.

"Does job searching count?" Miyako supplemented.

Ryuji chuckled. "Sure, why not?"

"Job searching, huh?" Akari asked. "Anything in particular?"

"Not really," Hikari replied. "Mom's been trying to 'encourage' me to get a job ever since we got here. I figured it was probably time. Wouldn't want her to give herself high blood pressure from the stress of worrying about me."

"No, definitely wouldn't want that," Ryuji agreed. The group moved off to the side of the game, watching as the boys raced up and down the field trying to score points against the other team.

"So what school do you go to, Ken? Are you a second year too?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, I'm a second year, but I go to a private school on the mainland," Ken replied. "I don't actually live in Odaiba."

"Oh, so that must be really different than a school here, huh?" When she noticed that others blankly staring at her, she hastened to clarify her statement. "I just mean… Well, I used to go to a private school when I lived overseas. It was totally different from schools in Japan. Our school's really clean and it's got a lot of the same amenities. Really, the only difference is it doesn't look as nice as my school in California did. No decorations really. Kind of plain. So if a public school here is practically like my private school in California, I can't imagine what a private school here would be like."

Ken smiled, "It's not _that_ different, I don't think. Next time we have an event though, I'll invite you so you guys can see."

"That would be awesome," Miyako exclaimed.

They sat with the boys a while and talked about various things until the boys decided they wanted to go face off one final time before the game had to end and got up, shedding their shirts as necessary to join their respective teams again. Hikari and Miyako stayed until the game ended about forty minutes later and stood as the boys approached, holding out their shirts.

"Thanks," Akari said, taking his black shirt from Miyako. "You hungry?"

Miyako glanced at Hikari, before looking back at him and saying, "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm famished."

"Same," Ryuji agreed. He turned to Hikari. "How about you?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I would settle for eating a small cow right about now," Hikari confessed.

Ryuji laughed. "Goodness, the lady's got an appetite too!"

Hikari flushed. "Don't say it like that!" she scolded. "You make me sound like a pig."

He merely grinned back at her and answered in a posh European-sounding accent as he started walking towards the edge of the park. "But I'm afraid t'is true, m'lady. You have admitted your affinity for ingesting petite animals."

"Ryuji!" Hikari exclaimed. He laughed at her outrage.

"More importantly," Ken asked, "where are we going to eat? I may have to agree with Hikari on this one."

"Don't worry about it. I've got a place in mind. It's nearby too," Ryuji replied.

"Oi! Beehive. Where are you headed, you muppet?" one of the boys yelled from a tree across the way.

"We're going to eat! You want to come?"

The boys exchanged glances and nodded, racing after Daisuke and his friends. "Who are these ladies?" one asked as they joined them, his dark hair falling flirtatiously in front of his left eye.

"Hikari and Miyako," Daisuke replied, indicating the two girls. "But they wouldn't be interested in lazy bums like you."

"Oh shove it, Motimiya," the boy said again. He turned his attention to the newly introduced girls and spoke, "My name's Mamoru."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"Hikari, huh? You're the new student from America, right?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

"I'm from the class next door. Class 2-B."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I haven't even met everyone in my own class yet, so I haven't quite made it next door."

"No worries. I've been hearing a lot about you, so it's nice to meet you face-to-face at last," Mamoru replied.

"Heard things?" Hikari asked. Her heart sank. "Nothing too kind, I'm guessing."

Mamoru shrugged. "Some bad, but not all."

"Say," Miyako piped up from across the group where she was engrossed in a conversation with Akari and Ken. "Isn't someone missing from your group? Where's Takeru?"

"Takeru? Oh he's at work," Ryuji answered. "Too bad too."

* * *

Takeru sighed as he wiped off the café's counter for what seemed like the thirtieth time that evening. He hated working Tuesday nights, because next to nothing was ever going on in the restaurant. Then again, he supposed that was a blessing. If he worked Fridays or Saturdays, he'd miss out on everything, and that would just be social suicide. Almost as bad as dumping Miyuki. He sighed again. She'd sounded so miserable on the phone when she'd called him on Saturday evening. He felt bad. Maybe he should give her another chance—

"Takaishi, your friends here to see ya!" Junoshi, the cook, said from behind the blond as he wiped his hands on a dish towel.

Takeru looked up as the door opened and blanched. Ryuji traipsed in, followed by Hikari, Mamoru, Daisuke, Daisuke's random soccer buddies, Ken, Miyako, and Akari. He cursed and ducked down instantly, pretending as if he had to tie his shoe. His friends were here. Friend_**s**_, plural! And it wasn't just his closest pals, the people who would understand if they saw him in a nasty, moldy green, muck covered apron wearing his lame straight arrow uniform—a button up shirt with a pair of black pants. Forget working on Saturdays. If these people saw him, especially with the buzz about his breakup flying around, why he was done for! He'd kept the place he worked a secret for a reason. He didn't want to try and chat up his classmates while he looked and felt so ridiculously stupid. Maybe he could just hang in the back and help Junoshi until they left. Yeah, that just might work, except—shoot! He could see Motoki making a break for the back himself. Takeru would just have to beat him ther—

"Taikaishi, I want you to go take care of those costumers," Hiroshi, the owner's husband, said from where he was taking a break in a booth. His wife, Megara, the actual owner of PB's Café, was home sick with a nasty stomach virus, so he was filling in for her.

"But sir, what about—"

"_Now_, Takaishi," Hiroshi replied, raggedly. He was tired. Taking care of his wife's business and his wife at the same time on top of doing his own work had left him exhausted and beyond reasoning.

"Yes sir," he sighed. He finished "tying" his shoe and stood, glumly.

"Takeru! There you are!" Ryuji exclaimed, waving at him giddily from where they'd settled down in the plush chairs surrounding the coffee table in the corner where live musicians often played on the weekends. Takeru shot him a death glare. Ryuji. Of course, he should have known he was behind it from the moment that brunet had stepped through the door. He'd been in front—the ring leader. Clearly, Ryuji was trying to destroy him. Takeru would never forgive him.

The others turned to look at him and he felt a sudden urge to duck down and hide again. What if word got out as to where he worked? Nevermind looking like a loser. After what had gone down on Friday and Miyuki's non-presence at school, Miyuki's girlfriends would be ready to tear him limb from limb. Plus, from what Takeru had heard, nobody had been able to get ahold of her. Yes, her lackeys would stalk him to his job and cause so much trouble for Hiroshi and Meg that they would have no choice but to let Takeru go.

Another wave of boiling anger swept over him. That idiot. Screw forgiveness, Takeru was going to kill him. Fighting his urge to flee, Takeru knelt down calmly and dug out a handful of menus. _Calm, smile, strangle Ryuji later, and go…_

"Hey guys, welcome to PB's Café. Can I start you out with something to drink?" He glanced around the table at his friends, lowering his eyes when he reached Hikari and again when they passed over Akari. How could he look either of them in the eye? He felt guilty on both counts. Akari had been so supportive of Takeru breaking up with Miyuki. But knowing Takeru's tendency towards soft-heartedness, he'd made the blond promise he would never second guess his decision. Akari believed strongly in following your instinct—particularly those first gut reactions you experience because "every reaction after the initial usually comes not from your own heart, but from the influence of others," and it went without saying that Akari was a major proponent of marching to the beat of your own drum. And Hikari…well, somehow, he'd dragged her into something she had nothing to do with, or rather, Miyuki had, and it was making her life unnecessarily difficult. As if moving thousands of miles from everything with which she was familiar wasn't hard enough already.

The bell on the door tinkled softly behind him. "Hey everyone," an equally soft, familiar voice said. "Sorry I'm late." He glanced over his shoulder and saw Fumiko crossing the empty café to join their relaxed gathering. She was dressed in a billowy, black ruffled top, mid-thigh length shorts, and sandals. In her hair she wore a thin metal headband adorned with a bright yellow flower on the left.

"No worries," Ryuji said. She slid into the seat next to him and he leaned over to peck her on the forehead in greeting. Takeru watched Daisuke's soccer mates' mouths flapped open and smiled.

"Hey Fumi," he said, kissing her on the temple. He wasn't exactly sure when the kissing had started. At first, they'd just taken to occasionally kissing her forehead to annoy Akari, who dislike any male touching his sister. But the closer the group got, the more Fumiko became like a little sister to them, and then it had become a habit on their part and expected on hers, so it had stuck, and Akari now viewed it as their promise to protect her. At least they'd better, or they could expect to have their necks broken the next time he saw them.

"Hi, TK," she replied, returning the smile.

"What can I get you to drink?" he asked.

* * *

Takeru had foolishly hoped his friends would leave after eating. They didn't. Instead, they decided to sit around and chat a while before ordering dessert. Of course. Why would he ever have thought otherwise? As he collected some of the empty glasses and plates strewn about the table, he couldn't help but glare murderously at the side of Ryuji's head, turned to tell Fumiko and the soccer boys a story.

"I'm sorry," Hikari said suddenly, interrupting his violent thoughts of revenge.

"What?" Takeru replied, jerking slightly. She'd surprised him, starting the conversation so randomly and with such puzzling words. "Sorry? For what?"

"I know you don't want us to be here. It's weird serving your friends."

"Oh, no, it's not that," Takeru replied, pausing in his work. "Though, Daisuke is kind of a slob when he eats. I just…" He stopped again, trying to think of how he could voice his concerns without sounding paranoid. "It's just complicated is all," he concluded finally.

"Ah," she said. He excused himself to take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen where Motoki was grumpily washing them. Takeru couldn't help but gloat. _That's what you get for trying to skip out on work_, the blond thought. Ahhh. There was a sense of cosmic justice in the world after all. He headed back out front, preparing to gather more dishes when he noticed Hikari sitting quietly in her seat, watching the others talk animatedly around her. He frowned. He felt like he had to say something.

"You look nice today," he remarked.

"What? Oh thanks," she said, tucking one leg under her bottom.

"Sure, no problem," he replied, perching on the arm rest of an empty chair. "How's the day been? Post-school, I mean."

"Pretty good. After swim practice, Miyako came over and we went job hunting. Ran into those guys at the park and decided to hang out with them."

"Playing soccer?" Hikari nodded and Takeru sighed. "I'm jealous."

"Boring day on the job, huh?" she asked, sympathetically.

Takeru cracked a smile. "What are you talking about? This place is so busy I can hardly find time to blink between orders."

Hikari chuckled. "I'm surprised it's so quiet, actually. The food here's really good."

"It's even better when Meg's here. She's the owner, but unfortunately, she's been out sick with a stomach bug. She's an amazing chef; she loves to experiment, but I've never tasted anything that came out of her kitchen that I didn't like."

"Wow, that sounds amazing," Hikari agreed. "So you like working here then?"

"Yeah, it's nice here. Meg's great. She's so flexible about work hours and such, and when I don't have any customers, she doesn't mind if I do homework, though I'll admit that doesn't happen too often. Usually it's not this quiet, at least not when I'm here. I don't typically work Tuesdays," Takeru replied.

"How long have you worked here?"

"Almost a year."

"Wow, that's a long time. Are you saving up for something? If you don't mind my asking."

"Oh no, it's all right. When I first started, I was. For a video game system, but I bought that a while ago. Afterwards, I just used it as a way to fund my dates with Miyu."

"Oh, Miyuki." The conversation fell into an awkward silence as neither of them certain how to continue. Takeru unsure if he should have mentioned her and Hikari unsure if talking about her would upset him. He'd looked so sad when he said her name. "Do you miss her?" she asked at last.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "As weird as that sounds. I know she's put you through hell since you've been here. Sorry."

"It's not your fault really," Hikari shrugged it off. "And it's not that weird. If you've been with someone for a while and suddenly he or she isn't there… Regardless of the reason you separated, sometimes you'll miss them…" She trailed off.

"Had to leave someone behind, huh?"

Hikari nodded. "That's probably the best way to put it. I don't mean to pry, but… do you regret breaking it off?"

Takeru shook his head. "The only thing I regret is that somehow, during this whole thing, you've been misrepresented. So many people are jumping to conclusions about who you are without even getting to know you, and that's a horrible thing. I'm sorry." Hikari stared at him in silence, her eyes slightly widened in an emotion he could not identify. "Oh god, that was a really rude thing to say. What I meant was that only time will tell whether Miyu was the girl for me, but until such knowledge comes to pass, I won't worry about it."

"Good way to look at it. What are you going to do now? With all the extra money you know have available?" she asked.

Takeru thought a moment and then shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'll start saving again. Maybe get my mom a present. Anyway, I should probably get back to work. It was great talking to you."

"Same to you," she returned, watching as he headed back into the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, when his friends had finally left, Takeru began to clear the table of its dirty dishes. He found a few coins sprinkled here and there at everyone's spots and pocketed them as his tip money, which fortunately, Meg let him keep without forcing him to share. Where Davis had sat, it looked like he'd just taken parts of his food, crushed it in his fist and sprinkled the crumbs on the table. Akari's place was marked by a stack of bowls, showing that he had taken full advantage of the all-you-can eat soup special he'd ordered. Daisuke's friends had several plates cleared so well, it seemed as though they'd licked the plates clean when they were done. Half a sandwich remained where Fumiko had sat; Miyako's place had no sandwich, but it did have the remains of the fries she'd ordered with it and a half-empty cup of tea. And where Hikari had been—Takeru stopped. Hikari's place was perfectly clean. There was no plate, no cup, not so much as a crumb. Instead, sitting in the middle of her spot was a folded ¥2000 note. He picked up the bill and unfolded it. Though there was no message with it, he knew what it was for. He folded the bill again and pocketed it with a smile.

* * *

_**ShoeBunny91:**__Well, I finally got a picture of Ryuji._

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__For real? He's the guy you like, right?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I wouldn't say I like like him. I mean, he's a friend._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Right, Hikari. And Tony's like a brother to me. Just admit that you like like the boy. And then let me see this picture. You need to know if I approve of him or not before you can fully crush on him._

Hikari rolled her eyes, but typed a response.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Of course, Angela._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ And don't roll your eyes at me._

_**ShoeBunny91: **__I didn't!_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ And Tony's not my boyfriend._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ You keep bringing up Tony. Did something happened with you two?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You'll find out about that later. Right now, I want to see this Ryuji boy!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Okay, okay. Just give me a sec._

_**ShoeBunny91**__ want to send __**SurferBabeXOXO**__ file: . Waiting for user to accept transfer._

_Transfer completed.__** SurferBabeXOXO**__ has received the file._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oooo my gosh, he's cute! I approve, I approve x100! But who's the other girl in the picture?_

_**ShoeBunny91: **__It's good to see that it doesn't take much to appease you, oh great one. And that's my friend, Miyako that I told you about._

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__Oh, shut up. Of course there's a long list of criteria that a guy must meet before he earns my approval. But from what you've told me about him, it sounds like he meets said criteria, so he's good to go. When I come visit, I'll have to meet him in person though, that goes without saying._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Certainly. Now, you've seen Ryuji. Tell me what Tony did._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oh, what didin't Tony do? You know yesterday was our one year anniversary. So, I go outside, because he's picking me up, and find my car totally decked out with window paint and balloons, proclaiming our anniversary to the world. He picks me up in the morning with breakfast waiting in his car. Breakfast HE COOKED mind you. He gives me a small present in the car, which turns out to be a bracelet. Get to school, find another present in my locker, a personalized teddy bear with my name and a profession of his love for me on it. He convinced Mr. Hutchins to write a math problem centering around our anniversary on the math test—which was a pain to solve, but still really sweet. Then at lunch, he gives me ANOTHER present, and it's a book filled with pictures and "Remember when…" memories. And then, later, he takes me to dinner and gives me ANOTHER present which was that Pucci scarf I've been wanting. I mean, he's just so awesome, I didn't know what to say._

_**ShoeBunny91: **__Oh wow, that sounds amazing. That's great, Angie! Who knew Tony could be so sweet?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__I know, right? Half the time I was talking about the Pucci scarf, I didn't think he was really listening. You know, earwax had clogged up the ear, but he had been listening. I'm so happy, I can't get him off of my mind!_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I don't blame you. It sounds so romantic. I'm so jealous._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Speaking of jealousy, how's life post-breakup?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Well, right now it's bearable. Nobody's seen or heard from Miyuki since the incident, so her posse's kinda unsure of how to go about attacking me, so it's mostly just sitting through glares and gossip._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Well that's good at least. What I don't understand is how she blamed you for all this in the first place. If you ask me, it sounds like she brought it upon herself being a bitch and all. It's just like with Alexandria. No matter how mean she is to you, you can appease yourself by knowing that someday soon, her fake boob will drop right off her chest leaving her with nothing but a pair of awkwardly knobby knees that knock together when she walks._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ *boobs_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ haha. Angie, that's mean._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You know you've thought it too. Don't pretend like you haven't._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Though, it would be funnier if only one boob fell off._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ You are beyond strange, Angela. Anyway, I'm glad all's going well with Tony. How's Chase?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Chase is Chase. I don't know how else to describe him._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I'm not sure there is another way to describe him._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Hmm, I have a picture of Takeru too if you want to see._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Of course I want to see! I want to know what this turd looks like so when I visit I know just who to kill._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ A) You use some of the weirdest expression known to mankind, and B) Takeru's a really nice guy. It's Miyuki that's the problem._

_**ShoeBunny91**__ wants to send __**SurferBabeXOXO**__ file: . Waiting for user to accept transfer._

_Transfer completed. __**SurferBabeXOXO**__ has received the file._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ We ended up eating dinner at the place where he works today, and he was really kinda sweet. He apologized for the whole Miyuki-wants-to-kill-you fiasco. And he's a talented writer._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ This is the guy who was dating Miyuki?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You did that one homework assignment with him, right?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Yep, that's the one._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Wow, he's really cute too. I can see why Miyuki wouldn't want to let him go. Even still, he's going to have to shape up if he's going to continue bringing trouble to my best friend's door. I'd tell you to warn him of his impending doom, but then that might give him a fair chance. And we can't have that, can we? :)_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Ugh. And I thought Miranda was the crazy one. Go to school._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ You may kick me out now, Hikari. But I'll always be watching. And I've got a memory like a steel trap. Now that I know who he is…I'll never forget his face._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Thank you, Master Don. Now go. And try not to think about Alexandria's fake boobs today._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I make no promises. You never know, today just may be the day. _

_**SurferBabeXOXO: **__Knobby knees, that's all I'm sayin'. ;)_

**o-o-o-o-o**

Incidentally, I think I'm in love with Natsue. Also, at the original time of writing this chapter, 2000 yen was roughly equivalent to $20. It's like $20 and some change.

Thanks, of course, to all my reviewers! I appreciate you all so much. Thanks to _MagickCaster_, _authorgal282_, _Kyo_, _rgr_, _Uchiha-Kirara_, _Anonymous_, _Nightshroud19_, _TheSlyFoxofPeanutButterness_, _Satotadashi_, _Final Genesis_, _musiclover9419_, _TopazledHannah-kun_, _butterflyangellover14_, _Takerus Lost Angel_, _twiinklestar_, _Storyteller of dimensions_, _sasukichan_, _LoneWolfVampire13_, _joeshen_, and _Shire Folk_. I also want to thank those who expressed their sentiments over the passing of my grandfather. It was extremely kind of you. Thanks so much.

**MagickCaster:** Yes, I understand what you mean. Originally, more parts of the canon Digimon universe made it into this fic, but when I set out to write this, I said I'd do a normal high school fic, and I was quickly letting my imagination run wild, so I ended up cutting it all out entirely. They may make a cameo somewhere, but I can't promise anything. We'll see how the story goes.

**authorgal282:** Reading your review when it came through on my email definitely made my day – like a breath of fresh air. I'm so glad you enjoy reading this story. I enjoy writing it. Except when I get writer's block.

**Kyo:** Yeah, I definitely see what you're saying about the flow of time. It's a bit quick. I guess Takeru's whole deal was passivity. Despite seeing the type of girl Miyuki was, he constantly allowed himself to overlook it for the sake of avoiding a confrontation with her; it made his life a lot easier to just keep her happy. Still, I could see how it could get confusing. And I see what you mean about the breakup. To me, his breaking point was the water incident with Hikari. For the first time, I think he really understood just how much she was hurting people, for no apparent reason. And I know that makes him sound kind of dim, but really most of the people she attacked he didn't hang out with afterwards, you know what I mean? So he never really saw how she affected them. I may just be setting myself up for a wonderful taste of my foot though.

And you're completely right about Hikari and Miyako. The idea was they had so much in common that they just struck it right off and were like long lost BFFs. A stretch, I know. And yes, it's only been two weeks since the story started. This chapter begins the third. I admit. The bullying is totally out of proportion for the amount of time that's passed; I was hoping no would notice because I have no excuse for that. -nervous laughter- Anyway, no offense taken. The fact that you paid such close attention to the story actually makes me really happy. I'll have to be more careful in the future. Thanks!

**Uchiha-Kirara:** I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. It was so long and comprehensive. I loved the whole thing, constructive criticism (which is always welcome, by the way) and all. You brought up valid points, so I'll keep them in mind as I continue with the story. There is a conversation between TK and Kari in this chapter. And in next chapter or two, there will be more. I'm in the process of reworking the story arc, so I can't speak passed that, but most likely the chapters after that will have Takari moments as well. As for TK and Kari finding out their brothers are best friends/roommates. I had a big unveiling moment planned for it, but I may change it now. I haven't decided yet. And consider yourself lucky. There were definitely people like Miyuki at my high school. Not as overtly physically cruel as she is, but definitely as verbally mean. None of it was ever directed towards me though, thankfully. Point taken. Drama's officially been added to genre.

**Anonymous:** Yeah, I'm definitely treasuring this review for the rest of my life. Thanks.

**Final Genesis: **Ironically, after writing that chapter, "Apologize" came on the radio so much at work that I'm fairly certain I never want to hear it again. Or at least not for a long time.

**TopazledHannah-kun: **I just loved your choice of words for TK and Kari's future, because that's exactly what's going to happen! Afufufufufu~

**twiinklestar:** Thanks for catching that error. I can't remember now, but I think I already fixed it. That was so frustrating. I spent days pouring over that chapter to make sure I got out every glitch and I missed something as simple as that. Argh! And no, Takeru does not know yet.

**Storyteller of dimensions:** Miyu's totally a 1-D character. I'd wrote her that way intentionally at first, but I'm starting to change my mind. Now that her fairytale's been turned upside down, it will hopefully provide the opportunity to flesh her out more. Or at least her sister with whom I'm now in love.

**LoneWolfVampire13:** You paid me such a wonderful compliment. Thank you! -returns e-hug- My condolences to your friend though. I can't imagine what losing her father must have been like.

**joeshen:** I just love reading your reviews. You always get me so excited to write! Even if the writing comes out like crap sometimes.

**Shire Folk: **Haha, indeed. But I think Hikari may need the Grace of Valar more than I do. I may lend it to her for a while.

_**Preview of chapter 9:** __Hikari receives a package from America, and, tired of being bullied, decides to stand up to Miyuki to get back a present of significant importance to her. _

_Coming soon!_


	9. Chapter 9: The Return of a Queen

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

_**In the previous chapter:** Natsue saved her younger sister, Miyuki, from self-destructing. Yet still, no one's heard from her for days. While Hikari suffers through this gossip, she gets a break when she and Miyako decide to go job hunting and make the acquaintance of one of Daisuke's friends, Ken._

A quick note: I went through and edited all of the previous 8 chapters, and in many cases, rewrote or added parts. That's part of the reason this chapter took so long posting, as it's been finished for several weeks now. This was my effort to make everything flow a little better. Thus, you may want to go back and reread the story (though you may have done so already).

Disclaimer: I own many many pairs of shoes. So that's kind of like owning Digimon, right? Right?

Enjoy the latest (belated) installment!

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 9:

**The Return of a Queen

* * *

**

Hikari sighed as she headed towards homeroom. It took all her willpower not to let her agitation show on her face. She liked to think she was a pretty relaxed person, but jeez!—this was ridiculous! People were still whispering, gawking at her as she passed. And though they tried to pretend that she didn't interest them, the hush that fell over the gaggles of girls as she walked by was far too obvious for her not to notice what they were doing. This was going on day three. How long was she supposed to endure this? Didn't these people have anything better to do with their lives? Surely they had to have found some other gossip to occupy their time with.

"Shh, here she comes!" a nearby girl (loudly) whispered to her friends, putting a finger to her lips. "Act normal." The girl scrambled to lean against the window, as though she did that every day while waiting for class to begin. Hikari's eye swooped to the side to stare at her as she passed. After all, there were certain behaviors Hikari could just not let slip, and that blatant act of "normalcy" was one of them. She wasn't dead. She knew exactly what they were doing. They already took her for a boyfriend stealer. Surely they didn't take her for stupid as well. The girl caught Hikari's gaze, and her face flushed scarlet as she quickly turned away. Shaking her head, Hikari rolled her eyes and returned to staring straight ahead. She quickened her steps and felt a great wave of relief when she reached her classroom. Quickly, she opened the door and slipped inside, free of the gaze of a thousand eyes. At least that's what it felt like.

"Good morning, Hikari," Asuka said, waving. Immediately, Miyuki's cronies turned to glare at her. _'No one's heard from Miyuki in five days,'_ their eyes seemed to say. _'This is all your fault!'_

Hikari laughed, wearily. "Good morning." She shuffled over to her desk, trying not to make eye contact with Yumi, less Miyuki's friends think Hikari was somehow in cahoots with the dark-haired beauty. The door slid open just as she was sinking into her chair. Takeru entered with Ryuji, Daisuke, Akari, and Toshi. The blond was so engaged in the very animated conversation he was having with his friends, he didn't even notice the glares boring into the side of his head.

"No way. Had Atsuyama been there, the Arrows would have lost. It didn't help that Nabe sprained his ankle halfway through the second quarter," Toshi said as the boys approached Takeru's seat.

"Atsuyama's not the godsend you make him out to be, Toshi," Ryuji said. "And even if he was, the fact that your team falls apart when two of its members are missing is rather sad."

"Wrong. There's several things you aren't taking into account, Ryuji," Takeru shot back, shaking his head firmly. "The team's going through a rough patch because several new members were added this year. They haven't figured out everyone's patterns yet. If the team was as cohesive as they were last year, the Arrows wouldn't have stood a chance! Hey, Hikari." The blond dropped his bag on his desk, again oblivious to the tension he'd just intensified by speaking to her in such a familiar manner.

"Hey," she replied, quietly, glancing up. The other boys nodded a greeting at her. She smiled at them and lowered her eyes back to her book as they continued their spirited discussion about basketball.

"Takeru, your team is done for. It's about time you accepted that fact. Since they traded away Sakuya and Fundo, they've been on a steady losing streak. No amount of team cohesion is gonna fix that," Akari interjected.

"That's BS," Daisuke frowned. "Sakuya and Fundo weren't that good. Takeru's right. Once they get used to each other's playing styles, they'll be fine. We'll just agree that the Arrows had a lucky night last night. An unusually lucky night."

"Lucky my ass," Ryuji snorted. "It's not my fault you guys suck this season."

"Oh please. The ref was calling so many bullshit calls on us and absolutely none on you. That's luck if not outright sabotage!" Toshi exclaimed. The door at the front of the classroom slid open as Akari opened his mouth to retort.

"Get to your seats," Miss Kinoki said. She held her attendance book in the air, leaning it casually against her shoulder. Reluctantly, the boys broke up their discussion and headed to their seats. Takeru slid into his with a contented sigh. He'd gotten plenty of sleep last night, he'd had a nice breakfast with his mom this morning, and he'd schooled Ryuji and Akari on the game last night. Why did he have a feeling that this was going to be the best day ever?

As Asuka stood and instructed the class to stand and bow, another thought popped in Takeru's head. He joined the rest of the class in wishing Miss Kinoki a good morning and then dropped back into his seat. "Good morning, class. We have a few morning announcements…" Miss Kinoki began.

"Psst." Hikari glanced up. Takeru was grinning at her. "Thanks for the tip."

A smile broke out across her face. "Don't mention it."

* * *

_Click_, _clack_, _click_, _clack_, _click, clack_. Her heels hit the pavement confidently with each long stride she took. Miyuki was back in control. After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast (Natsue had insisted Miyuki start such an important day right), Miyuki had retired to her room to carefully put together every part of her outfit. This was the first time she'd see Takeru since the…debacle on Saturday morning. An event that had led to such a dreadful slide. Thank goodness Natsue had been there to remind Miyuki of the proper way to handle this situation: look glam, hot, and unfazed; make sure the boy knew what he was missing. Upon seeing her looking so put together, Takeru would, of course, open his eyes to the huge mistake he'd made. Miyuki, being the gracious human being she was, would accept him with open arms. She'd bestow her forgiveness without making him beg, they'd pick back up where they'd left off, and all would be right with the world. Yes, Miyuki smiled. Everything would be perfect again.

For things to go as planned, however, she had to make sure no one knew about her… experience this weekend. Natsue had told her to tell her friends the family had gone on a ski trip and the lodge had no reception. Miyuki had taken to the idea right away. The excuse would provide a great cover for the bandages wrapped around her infected hands. She'd fallen and scraped her hands or the poles had caused her skin to chaff. Either reason would work. Furthermore, a ski trip on a mountain with no cell phone reception made her sound exotic and so above all the insignificant troubles of this ephemeral life. Worrying over losing a boyfriend—which for the record, she had not quite lost—was so beneath her. She could get plenty of boys, if the boys turning to stare after her were any indication of that fact. Yes, Takeru was missing out. It was imperative that he realized this.

She turned into the gate of the school and strolled to her shoe locker, where she swapped her heels for slippers and headed into the main hallway of the school, her hair bouncing with each step. Her hair, like everything else about her, was perfect. Well, it was usually perfect, but today, she'd made the impossible possible and made it even more perfect. The right amount of curl and bouncibility, not one strand out of place. Her makeup highlighted her beautiful brown eyes and plump, perfectly shaped lips. Her heart began to pound with anticipation. She couldn't wait to see the shocked looks on everyone's faces. She had that glow. That I-just-had-the-best-time-of-my-life glow people envied so much. She almost licked her lips in anticipation but refrained from doing so as the action would have messed up her flawlessly glossed pout.

The rest of the way to homeroom, she entertained herself by imaging the dates she and Takeru would go on once they were back together. When she arrived, she paused to pat her hair and adjust her uniform, and then, she slid the door open loudly and strutted into the room. Just as Miyuki wanted, everyone turned to look, the surprise at someone barging into the classroom at such an unusual hour written all over their faces. Impassively, she took in everyone's expressions. Her friends were elated, Yumi looked as though she'd just eaten three sour lemons, most people were shocked, some looked…bored, and Hikari, well, she looked… hmm, she looked annoyingly unaffected. And what's more, she looked prettier than usual. Had she tarted up to try and draw Takeru's attention while Miyuki had been out of school? She had a glow. Some kind of glow, but Miyuki could not identify it. She cursed, but made sure her expression remained pleasant. She wouldn't look at Takeru. Doing so would ruin the illusion that she had everything under control. That everything everyone had heard was all a vicious lie, a huge misunderstanding. She dropped her note on Miss Kinoki's desk and glided to her seat, whereupon she put her bag on the floor and daintily sat down. Eye followed her as she walked, some stuck on her, others flicking between her and Takeru, watching him for a reaction.

Though she was sharing the spotlight, the brunette couldn't help but smile. She'd caused quite a stir. Yes, she'd made her triumphant return. And everything had gone swimmingly.

* * *

Takeru couldn't pretend he hadn't had second thoughts when Miyuki had walked into the English that morning. She looked beautiful and healthy, which eased his fear that somehow, in breaking up with her, he'd made her really sick (though the bandages on her hands hadn't escaped his attention, and that worried him). Her face was the picture of innocence. In retrospect, saying she looked like an angel was probably a bit much, but she might as well have been one. She'd taken his breath away. Had he really given her up?

As soon as English had ended, however, Akari had practically kidnapped Takeru from the room before anyone so much as had a chance to find their lunches. He'd asked if they could talk. Takeru was terrified. He hadn't been that obvious with his thoughts had he? Did Akari know he'd been second-guessing his decision, especially after the blond had _promised_ his friend he wouldn't?

Takeru followed Akari downstairs. Together, they stood in line for bread, and then made a beeline for the school courtyard, where they sat down on a set of stairs. The same stairs they'd sat on when Akari had told him to reconsider his relationship with Miyuki. Or so it seemed to Takeru, who was sweating so much, he began to feel woozy from dehydration. Or at least that's what it felt like.

Akari bit into his bread, but Takeru didn't move. His mouth felt chalky. He wasn't hungry, and, what's more, if he had been, he wouldn't have enjoyed the food anyway. Finally, having organized his thoughts enough to voice whatever concern he might have, Akari began the conversation.

"You feeling all right?"

Takeru furrowed his brow in confusion. Wait, what? "Huh?"

"Miyuki's back. You haven't seen her in a while. Are you feeling okay? No doubts about what you did?"

"Um…" Should he tell the truth? He felt that Akari would be so disappointed if he knew though. _'How could Takeru be so weak?'_ he'd think. _'Why won't he realize Miyuki is a bitch?'_

_ 'I tried, Akari! I tried,'_ Takeru pleaded mentally. _'You have to understand, I gave it my all, but I want her back.'_ Maybe if he told Akari that and explained how much he'd tried, Akari would understand.

Instead of taking the risk, he shrugged and said, "No, I'm all right. No doubts whatsoever."

"Takeru," Akari intoned, eying the blond, his bread hovering centimeters from his mouth.

Takeru wanted to glance down at his hands, to pick at a scab or something. Anything but answer Akari's question. But he didn't. He held the dark-haired boy's gaze and replied, "Really, I'm fine. No regrets."

"You're not eating."

"Yeah, I, uh… um…" he couldn't think of an excuse.

Akari polished off his bread and sighed contentedly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Perfectly understandable. She looks really pretty today."

"I know," Takeru replied quietly, giving into his desire to turn away. "Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. Sometimes I want to call her and apologize. But it's nothing to worry about. I'll keep my promise."

Akari frowned. "I'm not trying to keep you from doing something you want to do. This promise isn't supposed to be some ball-and-chain to keep you in line. Just be weary of acting on impulse."

Takeru nodded. He hadn't been scolded and Akari didn't seem to think any less of him. Mission accomplished? Had he not been so distracted by this fact, he might have noticed the irony of Akari warning him not to act on impulse. But he didn't. Instead, he attacked the bread in his hands eagerly, as his appetite had returned suddenly. He finished it off in a matter of minutes. The two boys rose and strolled around campus, talking about various things. As they neared the track, however, a break cut through their conversation. A girl was running around the track at a considerable speed.

"Is that Hikari?" Takeru squinted.

"I think so," Akari nodded.

Takeru approached the edge of the field and yelled, waving. "Hikari! _Hikaaarriii!_"

The brunette's step faltered as she turned towards him. Realizing it wasn't one of Miyuki's lackeys coming to beat her up, she broke off the track and jogged over, smiling as she approached. "Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing really. Just wanted to say hey. Why the running?" Takeru asked.

"Oh, uh…helps me deal with my frustration… in a non-violent manner," she replied. "It's tense in there, you know. Especially since… yeah. People are expecting something big to happen I'm sure. My nerves can't take the strain." She tried to laugh to ease the awkwardness of the confession. After all, this was Takeru's ex-girlfriend they were talking about.

Takeru nodded. "You do this everyday?"

"Everyday this week, really," she said. "Are you two out…well, actually, what are you doing?"

"Just catching up, really," Akari replied. "Then we happened to spot you on the track."

"Nice to catch a break, huh? How are you doing?" she asked, shyly, not sure if it was her place to ask such a private question or not.

"Me? About wh—oh. I'm fine. Akari let me speak my mind, so yeah. Doing great." He laughed awkwardly, and glanced around, unsure of how to continue the conversation. Hikari checked the time.

"Hmm, well, I guess lunch will be over soon. So, guess I'll go clean up and get changed really quickly. See you in class."

"Yeah, see you," Takeru replied. With a wave to both of them, she jogged off towards the changing rooms.

* * *

"I'm home!" Hikari called out as she closed the door behind her.

"Welcome home," her mom replied from the kitchen. Hikari opened the hall closet to put away her sports bag. "Hikari, a package arrived for you today," Ritsuko continued, walking into the living room where Hikari could see her. She was holding a small box in her hand.

"A package?" Hikari asked curiously, pausing in her quest to dig her wet swimsuit out of her bag.

Her mother nodded. "It's from Chase." Hikari's breath caught in her throat. She turned to her mother, the shock evident on her face. Surely her mother was joking. But Ritsuko simply nodded and smiled. No, it couldn't be! Hikari slammed the door shut and kicked off her shoes, racing down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of Ritsuko. She stared at the box in wonder.

_Chase Murphy_

_2150 Travel Rd_

_Beverly Hills, CA 90210_

It was true.

"To me?" Hikari asked, glancing at Ritsuko before checking the upper left hand corner.

_Hikari Yagami_

Written in his cramped, slanted writing. The excitement washed over her as she snatched the box from her mother's hands and dashed toward the stairs.

"Wait a minute, Hikari. Aren't you even going to open it? I want to know what he sent you too!" But Hikari ignored her, cresting the stairs and hurrying to her room. "Hikari!" When greeted by silence, Hikari heard her mother shuffle away, muttering, Hikari could only assume, about her daughter. But at least she was gone.

Hikari turned her attention back to the box she held in her hands. It was small, about as wide as both her hands put side-by-side, and about as tall. Even more puzzling than the size was its weight. It was light, as though the box were completely empty, yet when she shook it, though she couldn't hear the object bouncing around, she could hear a faint rustling sound. She frowned, puzzled. What could Chase have sent her? It wouldn't be surprising if the box were empty, he would be the kind of person who would send an empty box to someone.

Her heart was pounding wildly as she crossed her room to her desk and sat the box upon it, staring at it apprehensively. Should she open it? Well, of course, she should open it. She couldn't just leave it sitting on her desk forever. But, now? What if he was sending her some things she'd left behind because he'd moved on to someone else. Not that he shouldn't move on. They weren't together anymore, and they couldn't very well have a relationship separated by the Pacific Ocean. Still… So soon?

She stared at the box for several minutes until she felt so ridiculous for her hesitation that she snatched the scissors from her pencil jar and sliced the tape keeping the box closed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she pulled open the flaps of the box with trembling hands.

An envelope sat on top, addressed to her. She set it aside and gazed in anticipation at what lay below. Tucked into a sea of varying shades of pink tissue paper was a small velvet box about the size of her palm. Carefully, she removed the box, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Clearly, it was jewelry, but what? A necklace? Or perhaps a bracelet? Or maybe it was both. Or a set, like a necklace and earrings. Maybe an anklet…? Mustering all the courage she could, Hikari took a deep breath, opened the box, and gasped, releasing all the air she'd just taken in.

Nestled in the folds of a pink satin pillow was a ring with a brilliant pink, heart-shaped stone as its centerpiece. The heart was flanked on both sides by small clear stones that Hikari assumed to be rhinestones cut into perfect circles. Around both these stones brushed the silver that formed the band, skirting the rhinestone and tracing the edge of the heart so that it curved partially up the bump of the heart from the right side, and just under its point from the left.

Her breath was taken away. In awe, she stared at the ring, the light from the evening sun glinting off its silver band. What was this, and why…? The letter! She'd totally forgotten about it. Placing the open jewelry box on her desk, she reached for the letter and carefully wiggled her finger between the flap and the tape he'd attached to it to keep it shut, and pulled out the folded paper inside. With baited breath, she flattened it.

_Dear Kari,_

_ Happy anniversary!_

_I hope this reached you safely. I know it's early—that our anniversary isn't until the 20__th__. I debated for a while as to whether or not I should send it to you. I bought this back in May. When I saw it in the display case, I knew it would be perfect for you, so I brought Angie back to see what she thought. She said it was perfect. I considered giving it to you before you left, but…the move was so sudden. I didn't want to burden you with unnecessary feelings. It was hard enough for you to leave without me making it worse. Anyway, I figured there's no point in me keeping it here. I bought it for you, so you should have it, whether our anniversary still counts or not._

_ Two years, Kari. Two whole years. I can't believe it. The time we spent together has been some of the best moments of my life. No matter what happens, I want you to know that you mean the world to me. You deserve a ring like this, so please, enjoy it. The heart stone is pink sapphire, and the two stones on either side are diamonds (real diamonds, Angie terrorized the sales clerk to make sure). The band is white gold, just in case you need that information for anything. Not sure why you would, but yeah._

_Anyway, it would be nice if you thought of me when you wear it, but it's not a requirement or anything. I think about you all the time. Angela tells me you've been doing well, so that's good. I miss you more than words can express. I hope you'll keep a place for me in your heart. There will always be a place for you in mine. Say hello to Tai for me. I miss him too. Happy two years, babe!_

_Love always,_

_Chase_

Inexplicably, Hikari was crying by the time she'd finished Chase's letter. Not wanting to ruin the ink of his pen with her tears, she hurriedly pushed the letter away and tried to quell the rush of emotion that had suddenly coursed through her veins. Their anniversary. He'd remembered. More than anything right then, she wanted to run and jumped into his arms. To kiss him and stay up late into the night talking to him like they used to before she'd left.

"Hikari?" her mother said, knocking softly on the door. "Are you crying? Is everything all right?"

Sniffling and hiccupping, Hikari nodded, even though her mother couldn't see the movement. "Yeah. Everything's great, mom. Just great." _I just miss home_, she added, silently.

Just as Chase requested, the next day, Hikari wore the ring and thought of nothing but him. In class, during lunch, and even after she'd taken the ring off for swim practice she was still thinking about him. She'd received endless compliments and heard people—particularly, Miyuki's crowd—whispering. As a result, she was in a ludicrously good mood as she and Miyako left the locker room for home.

"Hikari, you've had that goofy grin on your face all day," Miyako noted with a laugh. "You must have really been into this guy. Tell me about him."

"Oh, I was. I still am. Chase was the best. He was crazy—so much fun to be around, but he was so affectionate and so smart. I miss him so much. Just thinking about him makes my heart hurt, you know?"

"Mmm," Miyako agreed, nodding. "Seems like a great guy. I mean he remembered your anniversary, nevermind the fact that he sent you a present from America. That's dedication. And such a beautiful present at that." The lilac-haired beauty sighed. "Must be nice to drive a guy so crazy he buys you rings with real diamonds in them."

Hikari laughed, and looked down at her hand to admire the ring again, as she had been all day. It was like a sucker punch to the gut. All the air rushed out of her lungs as she came crashing back to earth from the cloud she'd been floating on all day. The ring was not on her hand. She stopped dead in her tracks. It took Miyako, who was still daydreaming about having a wonderful boyfriend of her own someday, a moment to notice that Hikari was no longer walking beside her.

"Oh, and we could go to the beach and watch the sun set. Listening to the sounds of the waves lapping against the sand. Doesn't that just sound romantic—Hikari?" she turned, casting about for the girl who was now frantically searching her bag.

"Hikari?" Miyako repeated again, approaching. "What's wrong?"

"My ring. I'm not wearing it. I think I lost it!" Hikari exclaimed, trying to remain calm as she rummaged through her bag yet again. She still came up empty handed. "I have to find it," she said, heading back towards school scouring the ground as she went.

"Of course," Miyako said, following her lead. "I'll help you look."

* * *

Miyuki entered the locker room, crinkling her nose at the suffocating stench of chlorine hanging in the air. She tried not to set foot in this rancid place whenever she could avoid it, but having been made to sit and watch the other girls swim in PE earlier that day, she had been unable to escape. She'd forgotten her makeup compact in her gym locker when she'd left. Of course, she couldn't go home without that.

"So, Keiji took you out to Hibiki's?" Ruki squealed. "That place is so expensive! How was it?"

Himiko practically fainted at the question. She'd been dying to tell someone, and Miyuki had been too preoccupied watching Takeru when she'd tried to tell her about it earlier. Himiko knew better than to demand her full attention at such a moment. So she hadn't pushed it. But now…

"Oh, it was heavenly! He really splurged on me. Did set any sort of price limit or anything. He's so hot, Ruki. Oh god. Just makes me sweat just thinking about him." She fanned herself melodramatically.

"Sounds nice," Ruki cooed, nodding fervently.

Meanwhile, Miyuki had crossed the room to her locker. The showers were still going, which meant some of the people from the swim team were still in there cleaning up after practice. That is to say, no one worth talking to was there, so Miyuki tried to hurry up before someone saw her. As she crossed the bathroom area again to rejoin her friends, however, a glint caught her eye by the sink. She turned, and instantly, a devilish smile curved across her face as she grabbed it and rounded the corner excitedly.

"Let's go," she said. "I have something I want to show you." Once they were out of eye or earshot of the locker rooms, Miyuki pulled her girls into a huddle and then unfolded her hand delicately revealing what was sitting in the middle of her dainty palm: a ring with a pink heart as its focal point. Himiko and Ruki gasped.

"If it isn't the little slut's tacky ring," Miyuki supplied. "She was prancing around with this hideous thing on her finger all day. No doubt fake. The only question is what to do with it."

"Throw it out?" Ruki suggested in earnest.

Miyuki shook her head. "Nah. We won't get to see her face when she realizes the damage that's been done."

"Sell it?" Himiko said, twirling her hair, her mind clearly still on Keiji.

Miyuki glared at her. "Are you an idiot? No! That's even worse than throwing it away because it leaves a trace."

That brought Himiko back to attention. "Well whatever we do, she'll know it was us," Himiko said defensively.

Miyuki, who was about to lash out at her again, paused to consider this. "True," she conceded, her annoyance disappearing. "So, that means we have to make it count…" She tapped a perfectly manicured nail against her chin thoughtfully as Himiko and Ruki furrowed their brows deep in thought. "Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" both girls asked, eagerly.

"I've got it," Miyuki replied.

"What? What? Tell us!"

"You'll just have to wait and see," the brunette replied in a sing-song voice as she turned on her heel and began walk towards the school gates.

* * *

Hikari's attitude as she dragged herself into school the next day was considerably different than it had been the yesterday. The energy was gone, replaced by weariness, puffy eyes, and a red nose. She'd been crying all night. Where had the ring gone? Even with Miyako's help, they'd been unable to find it anywhere, and they had checked _everywhere_. Even the street! What was she going to tell Chase? The mere thought brought tears back to her eyes.

"Hikari, you okay?" Takeru asked as he sat down in his seat beside you. She nodded, but as he wasn't stupid, he could tell that she clearly wasn't okay. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she managed in a voice just above a whisper, trying to keep her voice steady. If it broke, she just knew she'd break down into tears again. "I'm just…tired."

Takeru frowned. The way she looked, Takeru could tell it was more than just a matter of getting enough sleep, but she clearly didn't want to talk about it, so Takeru stayed quiet, glancing over at her from time to time to make sure her countenance hadn't fallen anymore.

Having mastered her emotions again, Hikari stared at the door, disinterested. Waiting for the teacher to come in to begin class so that this awful day would be that much closer to being over. However, everyone but the teacher was coming through, talking to their friends, grabbing their seats, and making plans for the coming weekend. Asuka, Rita, Katsu, and finally Miyuki and her friends, talking about some asinine "problem" that a normal person would have found a minor inconvenience. The girls approached Miyuki's desk, giggling and whispering as usual. And that's when she saw it.

The brunette had merely used her hand to brush all her hair over one shoulder before lowering it back to her hip, where it rested daintily while she talked. However, Hikari had seen the flash of light off silver and pink. She squinted at her archenemy's hand, trying to get a closer look without seeming obvious, and as Miyuki shifted again, the light bounced off the ring again, and Hikari was sure beyond a doubt. Hikari shot to her feet in shock, knocking her chair back noisily across the floor. Several people turned to look, including Miyuki, who locked eyes with Hikari and smirked.

It took all the willpower Hikari had in her body not to dive across the desks and beat Miyuki to a pulp. That sort of violence would show Miyuki she had won. Again. Still, Hikari could not believe that Miyuki would stoop so low. Clearly, Miyuki knew it was hers, from the smirk she'd just given her. Which meant she couldn't expect to get it back if she just walked back over there to ask. What's more, Hikari was intimidated. To think that Miyuki had found the ring and then deliberately decided to wear it to school today to spite Hikari was a clear declaration of war.

Takeru, meanwhile, watched Hikari carefully. Her sudden movement had startled him, drawing his attention away from his book to her surprised facial expression. She seemed unnerved by something, staring off in the direction of the front door of the classroom. Again, without any indication of her intention, she left her seat and hurried out the door at the back of the classroom, distress evident on her face. Takeru pushed his chair back and made as if he were going to follow her and then thought the better of it. Maybe she wanted to be alone… He glanced back at the door and sighed. Was she going to be okay?

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Miyuki had not made any indication that she was going to give Hikari her ring back all day. In fact, she had pranced around the girl as much as possible, using her hands at every opportunity just to draw Hikari's attention to the ring that was on her finger. Even after she told Miyako the situation, and Miyako had tried to go take it by force, she had not been able to convince herself to confront the girl before she'd left school. The initial burst of anger she'd felt had dissolved into apprehension.

But now, as Hikari sat at her desk staring at Chase's letter, which she'd tucked into a photo album, Hikari was no longer intimidated, she was angry again. Pissed off. How dare Miyuki take her ring—the ring that Chase had given to her for their anniversary—and parade around as if it were mere costume jewelry? Miyuki had had her fun and Hikari wanted her ring back, but she didn't want to wait for Monday to get it. Before parting ways, Miyako had mentioned that Miyuki was having a party at her house that evening. Though Hikari, obviously, had not been invited, Miyako had urged her to attend. Hikari had declined, but she was rethinking that decision now. Perhaps going to Miyuki's party was just the thing to do. There was just one thing to do prior to going, however. She grabbed her cell and dialed.

"Hello, Mimi? If you're not busy, can I come over? I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

Hikari could hear the bass before she'd even reached the entrance to Miyuki's yard. The music oozed from every possible opening in the house into the cool night air. It was lucky that Miyuki's house was so large and surrounded by such a nice, big yard; otherwise, Hikari was certain the neighbors would have called the police ages ago. Of course, it was better that the party hadn't been broken up yet. There was no way her plan would work if she met Miyuki alone.

She smiled as she let herself in through the front gate and started walking up the path to Miyuki's door. She felt _hot_. Mimi had done such a fantastic job styling her for the occasion. She wore a black-and-white striped mini dress, which on a regular day she might have found obscene without leggings or opaque tights. Tonight, however, it seemed just right. It was shorter than the mini dresses she usually opted for, true, but it was not so short that she looked (or felt) skanky. With the leather bomber Mimi'd thrown on over it, it actually looked rather classy. The dress, by itself, was innocent. The bomber added a sense of edginess; the black, suede, thigh-high boots made the look sexy.

While Mimi had tried to deck her out in a full on rocker chic (i.e. raccoon eye) look, Hikari had insisted her makeup stay simple. Thus, her red eyes were only rimmed with black liner that flared out slightly to form a perfect point at the edges. Her eyelashes were coated with mascara. Her accessories, like her makeup, were simple. A couple chunky rings and several bangles—all silver. She felt dangerous, like she was ready to do some damage.

Lucky for her, that was just what she'd come here to do.

She stepped up onto the porch and knocked, waited a moment, and then tried the door. Unsurprisingly, it was open. Taking a deep breath, Hikari tucked a small strand of her straight-as-a-board hair behind her ear and entered the house, closing the door behind her. There was no turning back now.

She was in the hallway, and while the front two rooms—the formal dining and formal living room—were empty, it didn't take Hikari long to find where the party was centered. She entered the second living room and tried to keep her mouth from flapping open. Perhaps eight feet away from her, Ryuji, mild-mannered, intelligent, quiet Ryuji, was grinding up against a girl as hard as he could, a cup in hand. With a particularly hard thrust against the girl's gyrating body, some liquid sloshed out of the cup onto Ryuji's hand.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. It was almost as if that incident had reminded Ryuji that he was holding a drink in his hand in the first place. The brunet lowered the cup to his mouth, pausing his activities momentarily to take a nice, long swig of its contents. Thirst assuaged, Ryuji went to resume his former activities, but he was stopped as the girl turned around and started to kiss him fiercely. He did not resist.

Wow. This was just… There were no words.

Suddenly aware of how private the moment seemed (drunken though it may have been), Hikari turned away sharply, heat rising in her cheeks. It was then that she noticed that Ryuji was no the only person going at it. Where was Miyuki? Hikari wasn't particularly in the mood to fend off drunken suitors. She started to head back into the hallway when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Hikari!"

Ryuji. Oh great. She turned to greet him, a small smile on her face. "Ryuji. Hey, what's up?"

"Not much. Oh baby, you look _haaaah-ot_!" he slurred, taking in her appearance. Though Hikari could tell the compliment was sincere, she felt a bit unnerved.

"Thanks."

"You want some?" Ryuji asked, extending his cup towards her.

The smell of alcohol in it was strong. "No thanks," she said, holding up her hand to wave the offer away.

"Mmm," he replied, raising the drink to his own lips and taking another swig. Hikari took the chance to glance over his shoulder at the girl he'd been previously sucking face with. She seemed upset that Ryuji was talking over here talking to Hikari as opposed to engaging in suggestive moves over there with her.

"Wanna dance?" Ryuji asked, grinning devilishly. Though his cheeks were slightly flushed, he looked rather handsome. His slightly unkempt brown hair fell into his eyes, giving him a boyish appearance, further emphasized by the smirk crossing his face, flashing perfect teeth. He reached out to touch her; she quickly intercepted his hand with her own, grasping it lightly and giving it a squeeze as she smiled and released it by his side again.

"I'll pass, thanks. Actually, I'm looking for Miyuki. Have you seen her?"

"Miyuki?" he slurred, the slight rising intonation showing his surprise at this unusual request. However, when Hikari nodded firmly, he dutifully pointed towards a doorway across the room, "She's in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Ryuji," Hikari said, patting him on the arm. As she moved away, he suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her around. It was all she could do to avoid being smooched on the lips by the intoxicated teenager.

"I'm just so happy to see you, Hikari," the boy confessed in a slurred half-exclamation, half-sob. "We never hang out. I'm just so glad that you're here. I wanted you to know that." He went to kiss her again, and again she narrowly avoided a full-frontal kiss by tilting her head to the side. Her face was burning.

"Thanks, Ryuji," she said, struggling to free herself from his grasp. "I'm glad that you're here too. Please take care," she finished, awkwardly as she freed herself and sidestepped the boy, making a beeline for the door that evidently connected the living room to the kitchen. That experience had been…interesting.

"You take care too," Ryuji said, as he turned to return to the girl who'd spent the last five minutes glaring at the pair. "You look so good tonight, Hikari. So good. I just….ah. Yeah. So good."

Hikari pretended that she hadn't heard him, and finished crossing the room in three long, confident strides, disappearing before he had a chance to yell any more "compliments" after her retreating figure. She could already hear Miyuki's voice. Hikari paused momentarily to gather herself and then strode confidently into view, fixing her eyes on her target—Miyuki.

The girl in question was in the middle of telling a story, surrounded by a small crowd of riveted spectators and a couple bemused bystanders—one of whom was Takeru. As such, though Miyuki did not noticed Hikari right away, Takeru did almost immediately. His eyes widened in shock when it registered exactly whom he was seeing. The next person to notice was Akari, followed by Daisuke, neither of whom were particularly paying attention to Miyuki's tale.

Unlike Himiko, who seemed to be falling over her partially intoxicated self to find out what happened next. "Oh my gaawd!" she exclaimed loudly, slapping her hand against the counter. She was clinging to a person Hikari had seen in the hallways but not met. He was talking to one of his friends instead of listening to Miyuki's story, as such, he was the next person to notice Hikari standing there. "What did you do, Miyuki?" Himiko slurred.

"Well, _of course_, I handled it with grace and decorum. I _am_ a member of the Todo family, after all," Miyuki said, brushing a sizable lock of her hair over her shoulder as she crossed her arms haughtily. "Though he was clearly _dying _to be with me, I simply refused him." Fumi, bored with the interchange between Miyuki and her best friends, glanced at her brother, and upon noticing his distracted countenance, followed his gaze. At the same time, Himiko's boyfriend's friend turned to see what everyone was staring at, followed quickly by Chieko, who'd been hanging off his arm trying to get him to resume paying attention to her.

"You refused him?" Ruki asked, frowning.

"Of course I refused him!" she shot back angrily. Her voice softened as she turned to face the still shell-shocked Takeru. "I already _have_ someone, right Takeru?" The blond didn't reply, but thanks to Himiko's outburst, Miyuki didn't notice. Neither did Ruki or another girl Hikari didn't recognize as they both finally got on to everyone's odd behavior and turned to see what was going on.

"How nice! All the boys want you, Miyuki," the girl sighed. "Like that one really hot guy at the grocer's. I'm so jealous. What ever happened with him anyway?"

Hikari, tired of waiting, decided to join the conversation. "Yeah, Miyuki. What happened with him?" Miyuki, finally catching on to the fact that no one was listening—no one important anyway—shot her head around so fast, Hikari thought it was going to flying across the room. Even still, she finished her contribution with a smirk as she watched the shock of recognition cross Miyuki's face. "I'm _dying_ to know."

Miyuki's jaw dropped.

Takeru's followed suit.

Himiko was the last the notice. She turned around, and in her slightly off state, didn't recognize the gravity of the situation right away. That was not the case with Ruki, who pointed and roared, "_You!_"

"W-w-wh-wha…? How did you— Why did you— When did you…?" Miyuki sputtered.

Hikari didn't bother to answer her unspoken questions. She ignored Ruki's outburst too, merely twinkled her fingers in greeting. "Nice party."

Miyuki's face went sensationally red as the anger flooded her body. That brought her back into the realm of coherence. "What the hell are you doing here?" she exclaimed, shoving past Himiko to approach Hikari menacingly.

"I think you know why I'm here, Miyuki," Hikari replied, refusing to back down. She crossed her arms and straightened to show that she was not afraid. Miyuki had gone too far this time, and it was time that Hikari put her in her place.

"Wha?" Miyuki asked, confused, though she was trying to remain upset.

Hikari nodded her head at Miyuki's hand, where her ring glinted brightly. "I think you have something that belongs to me."

Though Hikari had not thought it possible, Miyuki's face became even redder. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger, Hikari could not tell, and what's more she didn't care. She kept her gaze steady.

"Wha—what?" Miyuki sputtered again.

The red-eyed brunette held out an unshaking hand. "I'd like it back, please." The tension in the air was palpable. At any moment, the situation seemed likely to explode. "Now," Hikari added when Miyuki made no move to return it. The entire room seemed to be holding its breath. What was going to happen? Takeru seemed especially tense. Was he going to have to jump in there and pull his ex-girlfriend off the new girl? And what was Hikari talking about anyway? Miyuki had her ring? Certainly not. But slowly, Miyuki's hand moved and took the ring off her finger, reaching out and dropping the accessory into Hikari's palm. Takeru's mouth flapped open again. He couldn't believe Hikari had the nerve to show up at all, nevermind confront her archenemy.

Yet she had. With a small smile, Hikari closed her hand around the ring, pausing a moment to continue to glare at Miyuki unfalteringly, and then she turned on her heel and headed towards the door. "See you at school," she said, breezily. As she left, she could hear Takeru's voice. "Did you really steal her ring, Miyuki?" followed shortly by Miyuki calling his name.

Hikari was already halfway down the garden path when she heard someone call her name. She turned and was surprised to see Ryuji hurrying down the path towards her.

"Ryuji!" she said, preparing to duck an attempt on her lips. Fortunately, no such action came.

"Hikari," he said, grabbing her hand and gazing at her earnestly. Hikari waited expectantly, but he said nothing else other than repeating her name once more.

"Ryuji," she said again. "What did you want?"

"We never hang out," he said.

"Yes, I think you mentioned that once before," Hikari said, but he didn't let her finish.

"It makes me so sad," he said. "We should hang out." Hikari said nothing, waiting for him to finish. Instead, he repeated, "We should hang out." He paused. "But I don't have your number. I don't have your number!" he insisted.

"Er, yeah… I guess you don't."

"I don't have your number," he said again. "What is it?" Hikari hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted to give it to him, as she didn't want to deal with drunken texts or phone calls from the boy on the weekends. "Please," he said, clutching at her hand. "Please, please, please, pleeeaaassseee." He started to get increasingly worked up. Just to stop keep from causing him undue mental anguish, Hikari acquiesced and gave him her phone number.

"Yes! I'll call or text you. We'll hang out!" he said, stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

"Great," Hikari said, forcing a smile on her face, though simultaneously praying that he'd drunkenly mistyped her number. A moment of awkwardness settled on them as Ryuji, business completed, merely stood there looking at her, and Hikari, unsure what to do as she wanted to leave but thought that might be rude, simply stared back. "So," she finally spoke. "Anything else?"

Ryuji shook his head and smiled at her contentedly.

She returned the smile, but placed her hands on his shoulder and turned him around so that he was facing the door. "I've got to go, but why don't you go back inside? I bet your girlfriend is missing you." And so, with a light shove, he trotted back up the path and into the house. Hikari let out a sigh of relief when he was gone. She'd forgotten what it was like to interact with drunk people. Stuffing her hands in the pockets of her bomber, she turned and resumed her walk towards homes.

"Hikari!" a voice exclaimed as she reached the garden gate. "Wait up!"

Oh god. Had Ryuji returned with another request? But the voice's owner was in fact, not Ryuji, but Takeru. He raced down the walkway towards her, slowing to a stop in front of her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." She looked at him wearily, unsure of what he wanted, whether or not he was drunk. He didn't seem to be falling over himself, so that was good. They stared at each other in silence a moment before Takeru spoke up.

"U-um!" _Great start, Takaishi_. "Uh, I just…I can't believe Miyuki did that to you. That was…way over the line. I just, uh…wanted to apologize. I'm really sorry."

Hikari smiled. "Why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault."

"But it is. I don't know why, but for some reason, Miyuki's gotten it into her head that you're the reason we broke up, but really it was a long time coming. I'm surprised we lasted as long as we did, actually."

"Is it rude to say me too?" Takeru looked at Hikari, surprised.

"What? How would you—?"

"Five months together. I heard from people," she replied. "I mean no disrespect, the two of you just seem to belong to two totally different worlds is all. I guess opposites attracted."

He was silent a moment, as though pondering what she'd just said, and then chuckled. "I guess they did." They fell silent again.

"Is that all?"

"Uh, well, no. Not exactly. I,uh… I was kind of wondering if maybe you'd like to go grab a cup of coffee or something. Maybe go see a movie."

It was Hikari's turn to be surprised. "Don't you have a party to get back to?"

"What? In there? Nah, I'm done. I think I'd have a much more interesting time with you."

"But won't you get in trouble?" she gasped.

"In trouble?" Takeru frowned. "With who?"

"With Miyuki."

"We aren't together anymore."

"Yeah, I know…" Takeru looked at her expectantly. "I guess I just assumed…" Assumed what, she wasn't exactly sure. "Nevermind. I'm sorry." She fiddled with her ring, now securely on her middle finger.

"So, is that a yes?" he asked.

Hikari hesitated. "You know this is only going to make things worse."

"I know."

"People are watching us from inside the house," she added, nodding over his shoulder at the faces she could see just peaking over the windowsill.

"I know," he replied without looking over his shoulder. "But I don't care. I'm doing something for myself. I'd like to get to know you better. Who cares what anybody else thinks?"

"I'm impressed."

"Why?"

"Er, nevermind."

"So…"

Hikari paused again, but smiled and nodded. "Sure, why not?"

Takeru grinned. "Great. My treat."

"No need," Hikari replied as she started to walk again. Takeru easily fell into step with her, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I insist. It's the least I can do after that show you just put on. I can't believe you came here to do that."

"Honestly, neither can I. Now that the adrenaline's worn off, I can tell just how terrified I was going in there. Speaking of in there, is Ryuji always so…"

"Outrageous?" he offered. Hikari nodded. "Pretty much."

"Really? I never would have guessed."

"It's always the quiet ones," he replied with a smirk, nudging her with his elbow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hikari demanded.

"Nothing," he replied in a slight singsong voice. "Nothing at all."

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: _A Feudal Fairytale_, _big big misty fan_, _big big kari fan_, _digimontklover_, _Funkeymonkey713_, _MagickCaster_,_ DigiPal_, _Shire Folk_, _twiinklestar_, _xSNekoChan_, _xxburuxx_, _Uchiha-Kirara_, _LoneWolfVampire13_, _KHgatomon3444_, _penguindan333_, _midnitestarz_, _XxButterflyxAngelxLover_, _authorgal282_, _Nightshroud19_, _Final Genesis_, and _musiclover9419_.

I'm not going to go through and answer questions since it's been so long, but yeah. I really appreciate your reviews! I've started working on Chapter 10. Here's to hoping it gets out before a year has passed… Happy new year, everyone!

_**Preview of chapter 10:** Hikari spends time with Takeru as he babysits his cousins, and really hit it off. Their budding friendship deepens when Takeru unknowingly shows up at Hikari's house on Tai's invitation. Meanwhile, Hikari, after finally acknowledging her growing feelings for Ryuji, makes a decision regarding their relationship._

Get excited!


	10. Chapter 10: The Weekend of Surprises

Monday, March 12, 2012

_In the previous chapter, Hikari receives a ring from her ex-boyfriend in America as an early anniversary gift, but accidentally loses it the first day she wears it. Miyuki finds the ring, but refuses to give it back, which encourages Hikari to beat her at her own game by showing up, uninvited, to her house party. Takeru, intrigued by her courage, ditches the party and asks her to a movie instead._

Sorry this took so long. I've been working on this since January 2011, and about halfway through the chapter, I moved to Tokyo for half a year and had my own love story. That experience definitely informed the second half of the chapter. I wonder if you can tell when the shift was (teehee). Anyway, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: _Digimon_ is the property of its respective owners and creators.

Note: Words that are **bolded (followed by a number in parentheses)** have explanatory notes at the end of the chapter.

**All-American Girl**

By ebacusta

Chapter 10:

**The Weekend of Mounting Surprises**

* * *

"Teeekaaaaay, can I go plaaaaay?" Mina begged, her voice coated with the sugary sweetness she used only when she wanted something. The teen opened his mouth to reply, but the four-year-old cut him off. "I'll just be right over there, " she continued, drawing out her last word: "Pleeeeeease!"

Takeru laughed. "Mina, let me get a word out!" The small girl froze mid-"please" as she stared at him expectantly. He stared back a moment, as though he was seriously considering her request, though, in truth, he had already decided. He waited just over a minute, until Mina was about to burst with her pleas all over again before he spoke, "Okay."

"Hurrraaaayy!" the girl exclaimed, throwing up her hands in victory.

Her celebratory cheers mostly drowned Takeru's next words out as she turned and ran full speed towards the playground. "Be careful! Don't talk to strangers!" And then as an afterthought, "And stay where I can see you!"

He sighed nervously as baby Ikuko shifted in his arms. "I hope she heard me…" he mumbled. He settled in with Ikuko nestled in a bundle of blankets pressed closely to his chest and watched Mina run around with her newfound friends.

Not long after, Ikuko began to wake up, kicking and stretching to help herself along. "Shhh, shhh," Takeru cooed, rocking the girl back and forward. But, it didn't stop the fussing, which was made worse as Mina bounded up to them and shoved a smooth, perfectly oval rock under his nose.

"Look!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, what, Mina?" the blond boy asked, trying to keep himself from going cross-eyed as he attempted to look at the rock. Ikuko, unhappy that she was no longer the center of his attention began to whine, kicking with more emphasis.

"Ah, Ikuko, shh," Takeru shushed, bouncing her on his knee.

"It's a rock!" Mina proclaimed proudly.

"Yes, I know it's a rock," Takeru replied, trying to deal with the baby, but unable to as Mina shoved the rock back into his line of sight so he could get a better look at it. "Mina, please." He turned to glance at her, but his eyes instead landed on a girl strolling through the park in a soft, multi-tiered, floral, white-and-coral sundress. Was that…Hikari?

His face reddened.

God, he had to get out of here!

Sure, they'd connected well as they'd eaten together last night after the movie, but…he wasn't ready to be greeted by her, with children in tow. Somehow, it just seemed too embarrassing. He tried to grab for the baby bag, but Mina shoved the rock in his face again, and Ikuko, upset at his sudden movement, burst into loud wails. "Shhh, shhh, it's…okay, Ikuko," Takeru grunted, trying to work his way around the rock to the baby bag. But it was no use, Mina was determined that Takeru see and comment on her rock. "Ugh, Mee-_naaaah_! _What?_ What about the rock?"

"It's a perfect….uh, a perfect circle!" she announced. Takeru stared at her, completely astounded. The rock was an oval, first off, and second, who cared? He'd seen plenty of oval rocks. Takeru struggled to remember that the four-year-old would not have had near as many occasions to see rocks as he had. Mina, of course, assumed he was speechless in awe of her world-shattering find. Who had ever seen anything so perfect before?

"Yes," he finally managed as Ikuko flailed and screamed as loud as she could. "Yes, it is."

"We just keep running into each other, don't we?" Hikari's voice came from beside him cheerfully. He looked up, his face slightly flushed with embarrassment. He gave an awkward chuckle.

"I guess we do." Well, no point trying to escape now. He gave up on the baby bag and returned to trying to calm the screaming baby in his arms. Hikari intervened.

"May I?" She sat down her coffee and held her hands out, indicating the flailing mass of limbs bundled in his arms. The blond surrendered Ikuko without a word and watched Hikari work her magic. Within minutes of the brunette bouncing the child in her arms and shushing her, Ikuko's cries quieted to hiccups and then to contented sighs.

"Good girl," Hikari smiled, lowering herself onto the seat next to Takeru. So that she would not sit on it, he grabbed her coffee off the bench.

"So, what's her name?" Hikari asked, situating the girl as she faded back into sleep.

"Ikuko," Takeru said, offering her coffee back to her.

"Pretty name. Thanks." She accepted the cup and took a sip. "I hesitate to ask, but yours?"

Takeru grinned. "My cousin's."

"So, you're just watching them for the day?"

He nodded. "My mom volunteered me for the job. My cousin's husband has been overseas on a business trip for a couple weeks, and she needed a break." Well, there was the big embarrassing secret. Yet, he didn't feel at all worried that he'd shared the information with her. Why had he been so petrified of being seen by her? It was almost as if overnight he'd forgotten how easy going she was.

"I can imagine," Hikari nodded. "Nice of you to help her out like this." She took another sip of coffee.

"Nah. Like I said, mom volunteered me, but I don't mind. Mina and Ikuko are fun to be around." He watched her sample her coffee again. "What are you drinking?"

"Hazelnut Crème coffee."

"Smells delicious."

"It's interesting. Wanna try it?" she proffered the cup to him. He was hesitant at first, as his mind floated back to his elementary school years. Wasn't sharing something like this akin to kissing? Their mouths would touch, albeit indirectly! But then he changed his mind, trying to refrain from physically rolling his eyes, though he did mentally. Really, Takaishi. He was 17 years old and still believing such nonsense. It wasn't like she had cooties.

He smiled. "Yeah, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead."

He accepted the cup and took a sip of the steaming liquid. "It's unusual, but definitely good." He took another sip and handed the cup back to her.

"Isn't it?" she smiled. Before he could reply, Mina bounded up.

"Teekaaay, I'm hungry!" she whined.

"Okay, okay, we'll get food," Takeru replied.

"Who are you?" Mina demanded.

"Mina, don't be rude."

"It's fine," Hikari said to Takeru before introducing herself to Mina.

"So, what do you want to eat, Mina?"

"Fried chicken!" she exclaimed, instantly.

Takeru laughed, and gathered up Ikuko's stuff after handing Mina her rock back. When Takeru tried to take Ikuko back, between the movement and Mina's excited exclamations, she started to whine again.

"Oh shoot. Mina, quiet down some," he chided, trying to work out the transfer. But it was just not meant to be. Having settled in Hikari's arms, Ikuko was not willing to be moved.

"Sorry. I'm sorry," he apologized.

Hikari shrugged. "I don't mind tagging along. Not like I had any big plans anyway. If you don't mind, that is."

Takeru replied without missing a beat. "Of course, I don't mind! It would be my pleasure."

Hikari smiled. "Then let's go."

* * *

The day was a long one, filled with laughter, tears, and many, many awkward comments. Hikari had to admit she had never been mistaken as anyone's mother before. Yet somehow, while spending the day with Takeru yesterday, she heard many people whispering such a conclusion. It was…weird, to say the least. She didn't think she particularly resembled either Mina or Ikuko, but that didn't stop the disapproving stares or knowing smiles.

Last night, as she lay falling asleep, Hikari thought nothing could have topped the surprised she felt yesterday, but she was mistaken. This was a lot more surprising and worrisome. She stared at her ringing phone, unsure of what to do.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Ange, Ryuji's calling me._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ The guy you like? That's good! Answer the phone!_

_**ShoeBunny91: **__But last time we met, he was drunk out of his mind. He tried to kiss me twice._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ ANSWER THE PHONE!_

Hikari did as she was told. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hikari. Was worried I was gonna have to talk to your voicemail." His voice was calm and collected, like usual. Had the image of Ryuji practically crying on Friday night not been burned into her mind, Hikari might have forgotten the party ever happened. "What's going on?"

"Um, not much. Just…"

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ What's he saying?_

"…Just talking to my friend."

"Miyako?"

"Angela. You wouldn't know her. She was my best friend in California. How about you?"

"I'm not doing much. You know, the same old same old."

"Oh…that's cool."

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ What's he saying?_

"Say, if you're not doing anything later, you wanna go out and grab a late breakfast…or something?"

"Breakfast?" Hikari asked. The surprise factor was rising. "Are you asking me out, Ryuji? On a date?"

"U-uh…" Ryuji faltered. "Uh, yeah. I suppose I am. Are you…gonna answer or just keep asking questions as if g5 showing up on your doorstep would be less surprising?"

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HIKARI, WHAT'S HE SAYING?_

"Uh yeah, I'm gonna answer you. Just…give me… one second," she replied, hurriedly tapping out a response.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ He asked me out for breakfast._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Breakfast? Not much of a date._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Well that's good. I'm not sure if I want it to be a date._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Say yes._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ What? But, he was so…but I don't know if I want to. He seems pretty loose with his lips._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ What?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Friday! He was all over me and some other girl!_

"Uh, Hikari?"

Shoot! She'd totally forgotten he was still on the line. "Uh yeah. Haha, sorry. I, uh…"

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Say yes. You'll regret it if you don't. No could've, should've, would've's allowed. _

"So what's the answer, hmm? Breakfast for two?"

"Uh…" Hikari stared at the screen. At Angela's demand. Once she said yes, she couldn't go back. What if it was a disaster? But then, she'd never know unless she tried it. She cursed, mentally. Stupid Angela. Somehow, this was all her fault. Hikari caved. "Yeah, sure. What time?"

He sounded noticeably relieved in his response. "Hmm, well, maybe, I'll pick you up at your house in like an hour? Where do you live?"

"Uh, actually, I don't want to wake my parents. They were out late last night at a business function, so… why don't I just meet you at the park on the way to school?"

Ryuji's voice was hesitant. Had she hurt him with her statement? Had she sounded too eager to deflect him from her house? "Yeah…sure. I'll see you there, then."

"Yeah, see you." She hung up before the awkward conversation could go any further.

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ God._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ What did you say?_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Against my better judgment, I said yes. This better be worth it._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Oh come on. It's not like he's going to show up to your breakfast date raging drunk._

_**ShoeBunny91: **__Theoretically, anyway._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Come on, Hikari. Don't be such a drama queen. He's not going to show up drunk. And if he did, go you, I'd say. You should have let him kiss you on Friday. Then you would've known if he's a good kisser._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ That's disgusting, Angie. I'm not a whore._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Kissing around doesn't make you a whore, Kari. Just makes you experienced. The boys can't resist a feisty girl like that, you know? ;) ;) ;)_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Again, disgusting, Angela. I'm going to go get ready. You keep your weird kissing fantasies to yourself, okay?_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Hmm, I wonder if I can. Would be a shame if Chase found out about your new role overseas~_

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Angela, don't you dare! That's not funny._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Right, right. Go get ready for your big "breakfast" date._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Don't tell Chase anything!_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ I won't, I won't._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Especially about the "date," non-date._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Okay, I won't! Calm down, wild and crazy. Take the frustration out on Ryuji's mouth, not your bestie. Garsh._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ Angela…_

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ Kay! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Go. Have fun. Tell me about it later tonight. 3 Love you girl._

_**ShoeBunny91:**__ I'd say I love you too, but the jury's still out on that one._

_**SurferBabeXOXO:**__ It's okay. I know you can't get enough me. ;)_

* * *

Hikari was beyond nervous standing at the corner of the park where she often saw Takeru and Ryuji on her way to school. The longer she stood there, the more she felt like this had been a huge mistake. Rocks were settling in the base of her stomach. Rocks and butterflies. What an unsettling combination.

She should leave. If she headed in the opposite direction into the park now, she could avoid being seen from him, and she could just give him a call and ask for a rain check. Tell him that something came up. Yes, it was a brilliant plan. She was just turning to execute said plan, when someone grabbed her.

She screamed.

Easy, bubbly laughter met her ears as she turned around, hands clasped to her chest. Ryuji was laughing heartily, in a thin V-neck hoodie that exposed just enough of his chest for the casual viewer to see that it was quite defined and equally attractive dark wash jeans. Hikari felt a boulder join the rocks sitting in her upper intestines.

Oh god. He looked so…good.

Still, Hikari could not allow herself to be distracted from her valid, she tried to remind herself, concerns. "Ryuji!" she gasped. "You scared me!" _Good, state the obvious, Yagami. Great job_, Hikari thought sarcastically.

"Sorry, sorry. You just looked so caught up in your own thoughts, I couldn't resist," he apologized, casually draping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his muscled chest. Hikari felt the heat rising in her cheeks. "Though, it seems not a moment too soon. Were you about to make a bathroom run? Sorry for being late."

"Uh, no. Not really. I was just, uh… you know. Pacing… or something," Hikari stammered lamely. _Or about to ditch you. You know, something._

"Pacing? You're not nervous are you?"

The heat flooded to Hikari's cheeks, reddening them. "N-n-no," she replied. "Of course not."

"I don't blame you, of course. I am quite attractive if I do say so myself," he said. Hikari could hear the grin in his voice, and though it didn't quite completely erase her fears, it did set her at ease a bit.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Sure, let's go with that then."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ryuji exclaimed, feigning anger and hurt as he pushed her from his chest and spun her around so that he could look at her. She smiled sweetly as she met his eyes.

"It means what you think it means," she replied. She kept eye contact only briefly after she'd spoken and then turned away, taking a few steps forward, wishing to put some space between her and the brunet. "So, where are we headed for breakfast?"

It took Ryuji a moment to gather himself. He had been so caught off guard by Hikari's earlier stare that he didn't quite hear her question. His cheeks felt a little warm. Even though she'd been teasing him, perhaps even making fun of him, she'd managed to make such a cute, yet mischievous look in the fraction of a second, and yet at the same time, it had been so fierce. It had completely taken him by surprise. Just thinking about it again made his face hot.

Struggling to keep the heat from his cheeks, Ryuji tried to refocus on the situation at hand. "W-what? Ah, where? Um…well, I thought maybe we could go to that new café on the water near the shopping center. I heard that their breakfast sandwiches are really good."

Hikari nodded. "Sounds good!"

They made idle small talk as they walked, asking about the basics, discussing school, and a bit of their pasts. Ryuji was really easy to talk to, perhaps scarily so. It didn't take long after they'd made it to their destination for HIkari to completely lose track of time. Breakfast turned into a beachside stroll, which turned into lunch, which turned into a visit to the museum, which turned into a mid-afternoon snack, which had brought them right back to coffee.

It briefly occurred to Hikari that perhaps she was drinking way too much of the stuff. But then they'd found a seat tucked in a corner next to the window overlooking the water and the thought had vanished with only a whisper of protest.

After tactfully avoiding what could have been a mine-filled conversation about Chase, Hikari discovered that Ryuji was indeed quite the ladies man. Not intentionally, of course. She figured it out after Ryuji kept accidentally mentioning the names of his ex-girlfriends, a list that Hikari thought must have been quite extensive. An impressive feat for someone as young as he.

"So, basically you like pretty girls?" Hikari summarized, watching his face carefully, but smiling easily so that he knew she wasn't about to grill him about his past love life.

"What are you saying?" Ryuji asked, chewing on his coffee stirrer.

"Well, there was Yukiko, Sara, Chihiro, Keri, Mari, Jeri, Marie, the foreign exchange student aka Helena, Yuuri, Rena, and Ari, whom I believe you called Peko because of her insatiable appetite. And that was just since starting high school? Or did that include your middle school history as well?" Hikari smiled, as Ryuji's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Touché, you caught me," he said, raising his hands. "I have a thing for girls, especially pretty ones, but man, you've really been listening, huh? Wow, you're something else. I can't believe I've already revealed so many of my exes' identities."

Hikari's eyebrow rose. "You say that like there are more." Ryuji averted his eyes from her gaze, focusing instead on a napkin holder situated across the room. "There _are _more, aren't there?" His silence was the only answer she needed. "Goodness, Ryuji."

"Hey, it's not what it sounds like, okay? I'm not a player or anything. I've never cheated on any of my girlfriends, you know."

"I'm not judging you, Ryuji, I'm just…impressed. You've been quite busy to have been on this earth for such a short time." Ryuji's face reddened, and Hikari laughed. "Easy, easy. I come in peace.

"But I am curious. Since it seems like you've been romantically involved with a fair amount of girls from our grade over the years, why haven't you ever gone after Miyuki? There's no denying that she's as pretty as they come, even if her personality is a little…unbecoming."

"That's one way of putting it," Ryuji grumbled, before raising his voice to defend himself. "And it's not like being pretty is the only requirement I have in a girl. I like girls of substance too, you know."

"I take it that you tried then?" Hikari grinned, taking a sip of coffee.

Ryuji sputtered to a stop.

"So it didn't end well then?"

"It didn't even start," Ryuji answered. "Miyuki was always interested in Takeru. She didn't pursue him until high school, but she was always keeping tabs on him from the corner of her eye."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I mean, it didn't necessarily bother me. Miyuki's pretty, but she's a bit too high maintenance. Even for me to put up with."

Hikari nodded thoughtfully. She could certainly believe that without any effort. "How long have you known Takeru? A while?"

Ryuji nodded. "Definitely. We've been best friends probably since third or fourth grade. Right after I moved here from Saitama."

"What kind of person was he when you guys were younger?"

"Takeru? Takeru hasn't really changed. Nice guy, heart of gold, but clueless sometimes. Popular with the girls, but he never really seemed to reciprocate feelings in equal measure—he's always been pretty guarded about relationships. He takes them very seriously. It's kind of weird, actually, considering his age, but I always chocked it up to the writer in him."

"Because…? What? Writers always seem more in tune with human emotions or something like that?"

Ryuji shrugged. "More or less, yeah. But why are you asking? You interested in him?"

Hikari shook her head, before balancing her chin thoughtfully in the center of her palm. "Not like that, but… I just don't get it. How did he end up with a girl like Miyuki?"

Ryuji laughed. "Oh, so it's like that."

Hikari backpedalled sharply as heat rushed to her cheeks. "I don't mean it like that. I know it came out sounding rude, but I just meant that they seem like complete opposites—the kinds that wouldn't attract. I mean she's so…so…" Hikari struggled to come up with the right word.

"So Miyuki?" Ryuji offered knowingly.

"Yes!" Hikari nodded. "Exactly."

"Honestly, I'm not too sure how they became attracted to each other either. Aside from the fact that Miyuki's gorgeous and Takeru's not so shabby himself. Beautiful people tend to gravitate toward each other, don't you think?" He grinned at her. "We have a prime example of that phenomenon right here at this table."

Hikari shook her head and laughed. "Flattery will get you nowhere, sir." Though she couldn't pretend that the compliment hadn't just made her heart start slamming about in her chest.

"Darn," he replied flashing his dazzling smile at her. "Was worth a shot." At the same time, a chime alerted both of them to the arrival of a text. "One moment, excuse me," he replied as he dug the phone out of his pocket. Hikari waved it off and turned to stare out the window.

It was a Sunday in mid-September, so the boulevards running by the park and beach were extremely crowded. Everywhere she looked, she was met with snuggling couples and smiling families as far as the eye could see, all out to enjoy the fine fall weather. It was what Hikari had been told to expect of life in Odaiba. Lots of tourists and lots of couples meant lots of crowds. Not that she necessarily minded the crowds, though they could be trying at times. No, what she minded was the endless displays of public affection the couples just couldn't stop themselves from exhibiting. No sooner had the thought entered her mind than she noticed a couple that had been strolling by pause as the girl raised herself up on tippy-toes for a kiss.

The familiar wave of jealousy swept through her body. So that was it. It wasn't that she hated PDAs, but that she wanted to be the one involved in them. Though she'd made friends in her short time back in Japan, the one thing Hikari missed more than anything was an intimate connection with someone—the one or two people she could tell everything too. People like Chase and Angela.

She longed to take a stroll on the beach with her fingers intertwined with Chase, bangs blowing into her eyes as she smiled up at him. She wanted to hear his voice recounting yet another practical joke he and Tai had played on a teacher or asking her about her day, to feel the silkiness of his hair as she ran her fingers through it, to meet his green eyes with her own and instantaneously communicate the inner feelings of her heart and have those same feelings reciprocated with equal intensity. At this point, she even sort of missed Angela running up at the least opportune moment, her blond hair dripping with ocean water, surfboard tucked under her arm, determined to ruin whatever Hikari and Chase had been in the middle of sharing. Though Angela was more than pleased with the relationship between her best friend and her older brother, she did feel that it was her responsibility to give them a hard time whenever possible, so she had made it her mission to interrupt as many of those "frivolous" moments, as she called them, as she could.

But maybe, just maybe she wasn't so far away from finding someone like that here. She stole a glance at the boy sitting across the table from her as her cheeks heated up. She thought she'd just memorize the image of him bent over his cell phone, half a smile on his handsome face, eyes glittering with amusement at the message that had captured his complete attention. A small smile crossed her own lips as she returned her gaze to the smooching couple still standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Toshi just texted me," Ryuji said, looking up from his cell phone. Hikari tore her eyes away from the couple now snuggling their noses together. "Some of the guys are gonna have a small party tonight. Do you wanna go?"

Instantly, Hikari thought back to last night, to the sloppy, drunk, emotional Ryuji who had tried to kiss her several times before practically breaking down in tears. She compared that Ryuji with the cool, collected Ryuji sitting in front of her. The immense difference between the two was like a slap in the face. The realization had forced her to open her eyes.

Which of the two Ryujis was the real one? Or were they both the "real" him, in which case, which personality was his predominant one? Or did he flip between the two the way one might flip through TV channels?

The thought triggered an even more troubling realization. Did he flip between them the way he flipped between girls? Hadn't he been locking lips with some other girl before Hikari had shown up? Yet, he hadn't had any qualms about switching his attention to her, though his previous partner had clearly been upset by his actions. And when he hadn't been able to garner Hikari's attention, he'd gone right back to the first girl without a second thought.

The warm, fuzzy feeling that had caused her to blush only a moment previous was gone now. She suddenly felt very disconcerted.

"Hikari?"

"Hmm?" the brunette asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"The party? Would you like to go with me?" He paused, waiting for her reply, but when she didn't, he decided to answer her blank stare with a bit more information. "Because it's a school night, it won't be too wild or anything."

"Ah, yeah. But, um, I actually can't go. I have plans with my brother this evening and then a standing appointment to talk with a friend from back home—um, I mean, in America. In fact, I'll probably need to get going soon." she trailed off as she dug into her pocket for her cell phone.

"Yeah, no problem," Ryuji replied. "So your friend in America, do you speak with him often?" He was fishing. Hikari could tell even before he glanced at the ring on her finger. Even still, she couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yes, I do. _She's_ my best friend," Hikari admitted, slightly emphasizing the pronoun "she's" for Ryuji's benefit.

Ryuji relaxed a bit and smiled. "Will I ever get the chance to meet her?"

The question caught Hikari by surprise, causing her to pause a moment as she extracted her phone from her pocket. They met eyes for a moment, Hikari's uncertain ones staring into his confident ones. "Maybe, yeah." And then she glanced at her clock. Quarter past four. She was late.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I have to go. I'm late to meet my brother."

"Oh, where are you meeting him? I'll take you there," Ryuji said, starting to rise, but Hikari laid her hand on his to stop him.

"Thank you, but I'll have to run, so don't worry about it." She dug into her purse for her wallet and started to extract some bills, but this time Ryuji was the one who stopped her.

"Don't worry about it. My treat."

"But you've been treating all day…"

"Please."

Hikari hesitated, but smiled gratefully and dropped her wallet back into her bag. "If I had time to argue…"

"Well fortunately, you don't," Ryuji cut her off with a smile. Hikari stared at him a moment, painfully aware of the _thumpity-thump_ing her heart kept making and the warning bells her mind kept sounding.

"Well, thank you again. I had a… I had a really great time today. I'll see you in school tomorrow," she said, standing. Ryuji stood with her.

"Me too. It was my pleasure. And yeah, see you tomorrow."

"Have fun tonight."

"Thanks."

And then she raced out into the sunlight, the glass door swinging shut behind her.

* * *

Taichi was already at the house by the time Hikari returned. He was in the kitchen, dumping various snacks into bowls. "You're late," he said without turning to greet her.

"I know, I know. Sorry!" she said, crossing the room for her customary hug and kiss.

He paused then, surveying her clothes and flushed, sweaty face. "Where did you come from?"

"Near Odaiba park."

"What were you doing over there?"

"Uh… nothing important really," Hikari said. No way she was going to tell Taichi she'd gone on a date this morning. She'd never hear the end of it; he'd spend the whole night grilling her for specifics. He might even show up at her school to try to scope the guy out. The mere thought made her shudder violently. _Quick, change the subject! _she thought as she snagged a bottle of water from the refrigerator and glugged about half of it in one gulp.

"These are a lot of snacks. How many people are coming over?"

"Two," he replied.

"Yamato and…?"

"His little brother."

"Ah, well they'll probably be here any moment, huh? I'm going to try and shower really fast," she replied, chugging the rest of her water and heading for the stairs, tossing her empty bottle in the recycling bin on her way out of the room.

Taichi watched her flee. She was hiding something, but it didn't seem that important. Probably something related to _boys_. He crinkled his nose. He'd dig it out of her later. If it was related boys, he definitely couldn't let that stand. He finished stocking the drinks in the fridge and straightened, swinging the door shut just as the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Taichi yelled, rinsing his hands in the sink and wiping them on a nearby hanging dishrag, before trotting to the front door.

Yamato was all smiles when Taichi swung open the door.

"Hey, you granny. Took you long enough," he said, holding up a box. "I've brought a cake."

"Oh, Yamato, you shouldn't have!" Taichi replied in his best granny voice. He grinned as he reached out and took the box. "Please, come in."

"It's not for you, it's for your parents," the blonde replied as he stepped across the threshold into the entryway.

"In that case, you can show yourself out," Taichi replied, still grinning from ear to ear. Even still, as he spoke, he knelt and laid out a pair of house shoes, closing the door behind him. "Where's your brother?"

"TK? He'll be over soon, I think. I haven't spoken to him today, but I know he's coming. Should I text him?"

"Nah, no worries. Here, this way. You ready to get beaten in _Smash_ today?"

Yamato scoffed. "In your dreams, nest head." Referring, of course, to Taichi's hair. Taichi just smirked in response. He knew Yamato was just jealous. Girls dig the crazy hair, and blondie couldn't get it if he tried. And how he'd tried, but it seemed that he would never again be able to get it back to the gravity-defying form it had taken when they were kids.

_Alas, poor Yamato_.

He sat the cake down on the kitchen counter and grabbed several bowls of snacks to carry into the front room, laughing quietly at his private joke.

* * *

Takeru, meanwhile, was irritated, lost, and late.

He made his way down the street, glancing between the number placards on the front gates and the paper in his hand, cursing silently to himself the whole way. Stupid house numbers being so random. Why had Tokyo been the last place to figure out that a consistent numbering system was the best numbering system? It was nigh impossible to find any place simply based off of its street address.

He was just about to call Yamato when his eyes landed on a familiar set of numbers. Quickly, he compared them the numbers on his paper and nearly whooped with joy. Finally! He'd made it! And he was alive!

Not that there was any reason he wouldn't be alive. It was just… he'd been so lost for so long, it sort of felt like he might starve to death before he ever made his way back to the main street.

Dramatics aside, Takeru's joy slowly faded, replaced by complete and total awe, as he realized what he was looking at. Tai's parents' house was _huge_! No wonder Tai had wanted to play _Smash_ here instead of at his and Yamato's small apartment. Everything about the house was elegant and refined, displaying its opulence through understated but high quality materials and architectural design. A beautiful sturdy brick wall surrounded the whole house, and the gate, which sat propped open in front of him, was new, shiny, and black, its adornments curving gently into each other like small dollops of black whipped cream. Affluence seemed to seep from every crack, hole, and corner.

Takeru suddenly felt very aware of his own humble dwellings. The **3LK (1)** he shared with his mom, which was not shabby by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, compared to this, he might as well have lived behind a McDonalds.

Realizing he'd been standing creepily outside the house for far too long, the blond willed his legs to move, slipping through the gate and walking up the nice cobblestoned path. The garden off to the left was mostly green, and somewhat plain looking, but Takeru recognized the dozing bulbs of what he was certain would be gorgeous flowers come springtime. To the left were a gravel driveway wide enough to park two cars and a covered port for the bicycles. There were four parked neatly underneath it.

He veered to the left, following the path as it cut right through the green garden, guiding him right to the door where he hesitantly raised his finger and pressed the bell. He didn't know why he was afraid. He'd met Tai before—the older boy was perfectly nice and welcoming and had never made Takeru feel out of place, so why would he change now? Still, clutching the bag of oranges he'd brought as a gift, he felt hopeless inadequate.

"I'll get it!" he heard a feminine voice say from inside. Tai's mother? Still, the voice sounded fairly young… Involuntarily, his fist clenched around the top of the cellophane surrounding the basket of oranges as he saw the figure approach. And then the door swung open, and Takeru nearly dropped the gift on the ground.

* * *

Of all the unexpected things that had happened this weekend—no, since her father had announced they were moving back to Japan, Takaishi Takeru showing up at her doorstep topped the list. Rude though it may have been, Hikari could not help but stare, utterly dumbfounded by the sight of her classmate in front of her. Judging from the wide-eyed expression the blond wore on his face, Hikari could tell he was just as flabbergasted as she was.

The space that followed this surprising meeting must have lasted a fair length, because Taichi called from the living room and poked his head into the entryway to see what was going on.

"Everything okay, Kari?"

His voice broke the spell. Startled, both teens jumped about a mile out of their skins and started babbling at breakneck speeds.

Hikari said: "Oh my goodness, excuse me. I was so rude. Please come in. Welcome to our home. Oh, thank you. You didn't have to bring anything with you. Well, if you insist, I'll humbly accept it. Thank you so much. Here, please use these slippers! This way. Did you find the place okay?"

At the same time that Takeru was saying: "Excuse me for intruding. Thank you. Please, I brought these oranges. It's not much, but I would be very pleased if you would accept them. No please, I insist. Thank you. Oh, excuse me for troubling you. Thank you so much. Yes, I had a bit of trouble once I got into the neighborhood, but I found it all right. This is such a beautiful house."

And Taichi just watched the whole thing with a bemused expression on his face, filing away the flustered way Hikari was acting for later interrogation.

"So, I take it you two already know each other then?" Taichi asked as they joined him and Yamato in the living room, cutting off their unusually formal interaction.

Hikari nodded. "Yes, we're in the same class at school."

"Oh, really?" Taichi asked, arching his eyebrow in surprise. "And are you always this formal with each other?"

Both teenagers froze, their faces going red. After a space of awkward silence, they both began talking at once, even more flustered than before.

"No, of course not! You see, it's just that I was surprised to see him there, because you never told me the name of Yamato's brother. It's just a small world that these two are related and that Yamato's brother just happened to be in my class!"

"No, not usually. I was just so suddenly startled by Hikari's appearance—and the house is so nice, I wanted to make a good impression and I thought at first that perhaps your mother was going to show up and—"

But Taichi wasn't even listening. He had already burst out laughing.

* * *

Of all the surprisingly things that had happened to Takeru in the past couple weeks, the second, just after showing up at Yagami Hikari's house, was getting his butt kick by her repeatedly in _Super Smash Brothers_. The girl was a beast. At first, Takeru had thought he might be nice to her—that she had felt pressured to play and participate to be cordial towards their guests—but he quickly realized that he couldn't win being nice to her, he couldn't win being mean to her, he just couldn't win period. Not often anyway.

Attempting a sneak attack with Samus's blaster gun, an attack that he had purposely charged when he was elsewhere and she was less likely to be paying attention, Takeru's mouth fell open in horror as she effortlessly dodged the attack, and flew at him with her Kirby's leg outstretched and proceeded to force him over the edge of the stage and drill him straight down into oblivion. Winning the game for herself. Again.

"Whee!" Hikari giggled, putting down the controller and stretching. "This is fun!" Takeru took the moment to steal a glance at Yamato, who looking white as a sheet, was staring back at his brother looking completely soulless. Who knew the sweet, unassuming Yagami Hikari could be so vicious?

But then again, Takeru was beginning to realize that Hikari was full of surprises. He thought back to Friday night, when she had shown up unannounced at Miyuki's party looking even more attractive than the party's host.

"Has she always been this good?" Yamato was whispering to Taichi who nodded solemnly. "Doesn't it ever bother you that you can never win?"

Taichi shrugged. "Nah. Sometimes I get her. Plus, I so enjoy watching my friends' faces as they get their butts handed to them on a silver platter when they play against her." He laughed heartily and then stood and stretched too.

"Can I get anyone anything?" Hikari asked, moving towards the kitchen, holding the now empty snack bowls.

"Can I get a beer please?" Yamato asked.

"Me too!" Taichi chimed in.

"Yeah, no prob. Takeru? Beer too?"

"Uh, no, I'm fine I think. Let me help you though!" he stood and headed toward the kitchen before she could protest.

"Thanks, I guess," she laughed as they entered the kitchen together.

Takeru grinned. "No prob. Being the loser I am to your talents, I must show my respect somehow."

Hikari flushed. "Please…" she mumbled, embarrassed.

"How'd you get so good?" he asked, reaching in the fridge for the beers.

"My boyfriend—uh, well… I guess…ex-boyfriend now," she hesitated for a split second and then rushed on, "used to play all the time. When Tai was there and after he left, and us girls—me and my best friend—didn't want to be left out, so we'd play too. But the boys would never take us seriously. Then one day, Angela said—Angela's my best friend—she said, 'If we beat them, then they'd pay attention to us.' So we practiced and practiced and practiced until we were skilled enough. And what do you know, it worked!" She laughed quietly to herself, as she refilled the chips bowl and dumped the bowl that had held the shrimp-flavored party mix in the sink. She replaced it, instead, with Takeru's oranges. She was so lost in her thoughts about America, remembering the look Taichi and Chase had had on their faces when Angela and her had creamed the pair of them for the first time, that when Takeru spoke again, she was completely startled.

"You really miss America, huh?"

Usually, Hikari would have replied with some breezy, off-handed remark about how she was making her adjustments, or how she enjoyed being able to walk everywhere, or even how she was making great, new friends. But before she even had a chance to formulate any sort of white lie like that, she was answering, "So much." The honesty of her statement, in the timbre of her voice, etched into the slightly frowning curve of her mouth startled them both.

But Takeru took it in stride. "That must be hard. I can't even imagine. Leaving behind everything to move halfway around the world."

Hikari felt a bit like a child when she nodded her head slowly, while looking down at her hands and feeling sorry for herself. But then she perked up as an idea came to her. "Hey, I want to show you something!"

"Huh?"

"Here, come on!" She grabbed the goodies and encouraged him to keep pace as she hurried into the living room, set down the snacks, and then grabbed Takeru's arm and dragged him up the stairs to her room. She was really excited about something.

When she flicked on the light, Takeru found himself oddly excited, eager to see what kind of secrets about her her new room held. It was a tidy place, with her bed pushed flush against the wall to his right, and her desk sat opposite it, with a single laptop sitting open right in the middle of its clean surface. Save for the photos on her desk, the room was devoid of decoration. Shoved in the corner by the bookshelf where Hikari was crouching were several boxes, still half-packed. He finished his once over and approached the desk to look at the pictures littered across the top in picture frames of various shapes and sizes.

There was one, set off to the right side of the desk of three girls. He recognized Hikari in the middle, with long, wavy brown hair tumbling down her back. Flanked by two girls whom Takeru assumed were here friends, one with long, straight blonde hair, and the other with short black. They were all grinning from ear to ear, and Takeru suddenly realized that he had never seen Hikari offer a smile as wide as the one she had in that photo. He was suddenly possessed with an irrationally strong desire to produce one from her himself.

"You used to have long hair," Takeru said in wonder, staring at the photo, memorizing the brightness of her face, the vivacity of her smile, the ease and comfort that seemed to radiate from her body. She really looked like she felt at home.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I cut it all off my first day here. New country, new life, new start—why not a new hair style, you know?"

"You looked really pretty with your long hair," he said, quietly, more to himself than to her.

But she'd heard. "Thanks. Angela will kill me when she finds out I cut it off though. Angela is the blonde." He turned to look at her. She was crouched by her shelf, searching the books for something. As if sensing his gaze on her back, she turned around and grinned at him. It was big and seemed to have come from a happy place, more closely resembled the smile she had in the photograph, but it still wasn't quite there. "Maybe Chase too," she said, smiling a more private smile. And though the thought was actually a rather morbid though, she was smiling, as though nothing could have pleased more. Takeru stared at her a second longer, and then turned back to the desk.

There were several photos of Hikari with these two girls in varying configurations, sometimes Hikari and the blond, sometimes Hikari with the black haired girl, sometimes Hikari by herself, or the two them alone, or Hikari with a boy with longish, messy brown hair that flopped unceremoniously over his green eyes. The biggest framed photo on her desk was one of them—of Hikari and that boy.

"Who's the other girl? With the black hair?" he asked, as he studied this photo of her with the boy that he figured was her ex. What was his name? Chase? Clearly, she still loved him, or at least their split had been amicable, because the picture was of him grabbing her from the side, and kissing her face, his nose pressed comfortably into her cheek. And she was laughing, a big smile across her face as her bangs fell across one of her eyes, both of which were squeezed shut anyway.

"Oh that's Miranda. My other bestie. She's hilarious." Takeru stole a glance again to see her smiling to herself, no doubt running than years worth of precious memories. He glanced back at the photo of her and Chase, leaning down to get a better look, accidentally brushing his hand across the keyboard of her laptop.

The laptop burst to life, just as Hikari exclaimed, "Ah, here it is!" and stood up. Takeru yanked his hand back.

"I'm sorry!" he stammered. "I was just trying to look at your pictures better."

Hikari laughed. "It's okay—"

But the familiar _blee-bloop_ ring of a Skype call cut her off. She hurried across the room and glanced at the Caller ID. Angela Murphy. Well this was unusual. They didn't tend to Skype much, because usually it was either really late or really early when they spoke, and neither of them wanted to bother their parents with their voices. And even when they did Skype, they didn't video chat. Not that Hikari didn't want to see Angela, but she was putting off Angela's wrath about the hair for as long as possible. So she'd told her best friend that their Internet connection couldn't support webcam yet. They would have to wait until her father upgraded the connection.

"Er… uh, sorry. Just give me one sec. Sorry." She started to decline, but Takeru stopped her.

"No, please, not on my account! I can leave. Or… if it's okay…I'd like to talk to her too?"

"Uh, I mean, yo—I don't car—uh, can you?"

"English is my best subject, and I've been to America before, you know. One of Yamato's friends, Mimi, lived there for a little while."

"Really? But I met Mimi and she never said—" _Blee-bloop_. _Blee-bloop_. "Oh— uh, then, okay? Real quick. I'm sure Tai and Yamato are wondering where we ran off too." She clicked Accept.

"Kariiiiiii!" a singsong voice exclaimed. She sounded just like the perfect girl to be Hikari's best friend, Takeru thought. Her voice was dynamic, filled with life, and it matched the bubbly appearance of the blond girl in the photo well.

"Hey, Angela. What a pleasant surprise!" Hikari replied.

"Ah, Ka-rii," she said, whining playfully. "When is your dad going to get the Internet upgraded? I want to see you!"

Hikari was startled by this mention and glance at Takeru just long enough for the blond to catch the guilt in her eyes. Perhaps Hikari was hopeful that he wouldn't understand what Angela had just said. But no such luck. For whatever reason, she had lied about not being able to video chat. He smiled at her, innocently, but she knew she'd been caught. "Uh, yeah, I know! I'll pester him about it again."

"Yeah! Light a fire under that man! Doesn't he know the world will explode if I don't see you soon?"

Hikari laughed. A fluid, musical laugh that seemed just a bit fuller than her usual laugh. "Dramatic as always, Angie. Say, I have a friend here today."

"Friend?" Angela asked, her voice wavering as though for a split second, she had thoughts of being replaced. "Who?"

"Takeru! You remember I mentioned him before?"

"Oh, the one who just dumped that one bi—"

"YES! That's the one!" Hikari yelled, cutting her off. Her face went exceptionally red, but Takeru just laughed.

"Hello," he said. "Nice to meet you."

There was a short pause, and then Angela said. "Why hello there, Takeru." Though she was trying her best, Angela could not reproduce the accent with which Hikari had said his name, so it sounded slightly foreign in her American voice.

"Please, call me TK," he supplanted, and Hikari smiled apologetically. But Takeru just shrugged it off.

"Weellll, Hikari. I didn't realize you had other company," Angela replied, an mischievous edge to her voice. Hikari caught it immediately.

"Angela, it's not like—"

"Excuse me for interrupting. You two have fun now! Within reason of course." Hikari could practically hear the wink in her voice, and felt her face going even redder at the thought.

"Angela, wait, it's not—"

But the call ended with a noise like a jangle of coins, and the room fell into a heavy silence.

"Oh god. I'm sorry," Hikari sighed. "That was… completely and utterly embarrassing, I just can't even… There are no words."

Takeru just laughed. "It's fine! She seems like a really great person. Clearly she cares about you. I can see why you miss America so much, having such a lively friend there." Hikari smiled at him gratefully. "So anyway, what was it that you wanted to show me?"

"Oh yeah! Well, er…wow. After that exchange it kind of seems like a moot point. But I was going to show you pictures of my life in California. But after that, I'm sure you wouldn't want to—"

"No, no! I would really like to see them. I want to know what kind of person you were before you came here. What kind of life you had, before I made it so difficult."

"Takeru, Miyuki is not your responsibility. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. Miyuki drew all kinds of conclusions because I brought you up in conversations I shouldn't have and defended you and—"

"Whatever. It's in the past now. Let's move on… TK…" she tried out the nickname cautiously. Glancing shyly at him to see if he minded. But instead, a huge smile broke out on his face.

"Okay, Miss Kari. Let's see what you got. Those photos. Hit me with 'em." She returned his smile enthusiastically.

* * *

Hikari and Takeru had long since abandoned _Super Smash Brothers_. They sat in her room flipping through pictures while Hikari regaled him with tales of her life in America and Takeru participated eagerly by asking loads of questions. Then, suddenly curious about his own life, Hikari had started asking him questions. By the time Taichi had poked his head into her room to ask if either of them wanted tea, a look of deep suspicion, quickly followed by deep relief in his eyes, they two of them were practically rolling on the ground with laughter as they reminisced about a classmate they had both had in grade school. The two of them had figured out they had both lived in **Hikarigaoka (2) **when they'd been young, and that they'd both moved to Odaiba after the Hikarigaoka terrorist bombing. From which they also figured out that they had been in the same class for about a year before Hikari moved to America. Them being young at the tim, their memories of the time were fragmented and fuzzy at best.

Now, several hours later, the two of them were sitting on the back porch staring up at the night sky in pensive silence, relishing the quiet. Neither of them had ever talked so much in one day, and both had been left with a feeling that they'd known each other for a lifetime. Their friendship had formed quickly, but it already felt solid.

"It's strange, but I feel like I can tell you anything," Hikari said, quietly, her voice barely breaking the silence. Takeru looked up; she was staring straight ahead, a distant expression on her face. He had barely heard her. Fortunate that he did. An admission like that was too personal to be repeated.

He smiled at his knees, letting her confession hang in the air a moment. "Funny as it may sound, I feel the same way about you." He looked up, and their gazes met. She returned his smile with a small one of her own and then glanced down again, thinking. They sat in an easy silence for a while, Takeru watching a plane make its way across the glowing night sky, Hikari staring at her hands, both of them lost in their thoughts. Thus, when Hikari finally spoke, it took Takeru a minute to reorient himself.

"TK."

"Hmm?"

She continued to stare at her knees a moment, even though she could feel his gaze on the side of her face. Her heart was oddly calm, considering what she was about to tell him. Proof of the statement she'd made earlier, she supposed. "TK," she repeated. Hesitantly, she began to raise her gaze, casting her eyes everywhere but Takeru's face. "I think I like Ryuji." She locked her eyes with his sheepishly.

Takeru was confused. Why was she telling him this? Yet, the look on her face told him that his reaction was a deciding factor in whatever decision she was making. "O-o-okay…" he said, slowly, noncommittally. He started to say something else, but there was more. He could see her working it out in her mind.

"I'll probably end up getting hurt, won't I?" She glanced at him again, and though he really did not want to sell his best friend out as a low life who only broke girls hearts (after all, it wasn't like he did it intentionally) the look in her eyes told him that she wanted the truth straight out, whatever it may have been. That meant no embellishing, no justifying, and no rationalizing.

"Probably," he said, finally.

Hikari nodded slowly, thoughtfully, a small, knowing smile crossing her face. "That's what I thought."

Takeru watched her face carefully, feeling guilty. He felt like he should qualify his statement somehow, but nothing he could say would change the facts. But maybe if he could just make her realize that it wasn't personal. It was just how the boy was.

"But he's not a bad guy," Takeru added, watching her very carefully. "Really he's not. Ryuji, he's…" He paused, thinking carefully about how to phrase his next thought. "Ryuji is like water. Easy to catch, but hard to hold. Say he's got commitment issues or whatever, but that's just how he's always been, and no girl's ever thought of using a cup. Or maybe they have, but for whatever reason, there's always a hole. So, I mean, you never know. You might be the one to do it."

Hikari mulled these words over, not lifting her eyes from her knees. Considering her options very carefully. When she spoke at last, it was about something completely unrelated to Ryuji. "You really have a way with words, you know that?"

"What?" Takeru asked, his face blushing at the sudden compliment.

"That was a really poetic way to put it. Water. I'd never have thought of that in a million years, but I can totally see it."

"Oh, yeah… I, uh… I kind of want to become a writer," he admitted. Hikari's eyes lit up at the idea.

"That's right!" she exclaimed, and Takeru frowned. "Ryuji said something about that this mor—er, the other day," she added as a way of explaining. She dropped her legs so she could lean forward properly. "You should do it! Do you write now?"

"Uh, yeah, some." He was suddenly both uncomfortable and happy. Nobody had ever responded to his hobby of writing as enthusiastically as Hikari had. Not that he'd told many people, but he already knew they wouldn't find it that impressive of a trait.

"Do you mind? I'd like to read some of it."

That really surprised him. His mouth flapped open as he stammered, "Uh, yeah… sure. I… Any time. Just… come over… I guess."

"Yay! I'm so excited," she sighed, sitting back. "To think, I am in company with a budding **Akutagawa prize (3)** winning author."

Takeru turned the shade of a tomato, as he began to protest heavily, though secretly, he was really happy. "I haven't even published anything yet! Besides, I'm really not any good."

"Nonsense! I can tell. You'll be award winning. There's no way that won't be true."

Takeru looked at her astonished. If only he could have that sort of confidence in his own writing. She hadn't even read anything yet. Oh yeah, she hadn't read any of it yet. So there's no way she would know. Still, it was a comforting thought. "You're really something, you know that?"

"Oh? A good something?" she asked, eyes shining.

"A great something," Takeru replied, thinking a truer statement had never been said.

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

Notes:

**(1) 3LK**: shorthand for an apartment containing three bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen.

**(2) Hikarigaoka**: In the English version of Digimon, this area was called Heighton View Terrace. It is the place where all the original DigiDestined lived when they were younger and the place where they first saw Digimon, the giant Greymon and Parrotmon. Lately, I've been watching the original Japanese version of Digimon, and it has inspired me to try and be truer to the original storyline whenever possible, even though there are no Digimon in this story. Teehee.

**(3) Akutagawa Prize**: Is the highest literary prize in Japan named for Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, a literary great who wrote many famous pieces such as "In a Grove" (from which the phrase "In a grove" comes from) and "Rashomon" (which was made into a movie and has been retold in one form or another countless times) before committing suicide at age 35.

_In the next chapter, Hikari makes the acquaintance of g5's lead singer when she helps her out of a tight spot. Eager to do something in return for her, she offers Hkari a spot on her band's stylist team! Meanwhile, Ryuji, embolded by their Sunday date, starts trying to woo her, which tests her resolve to stay single. Takeru, having failed at convincing Yamato to take his spot in the musical, is forced to make good on his promise, which causes rising tensions among his friends._

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: _Kjhgb_, _bROkeN TrUst_, _xosunshinegirlxo_, _Koatan_, _Arisachu_, _freedom2619_, _kitto-be-alright_, _AniManGa19930_, _Wildcats15_, _aaaa_, _missyEll16_, _x0Arisax0_, _Namika-i_, _Final Genesis_, _authorgal282_, and _inudemon02_.

No, really, thank you guys. I really really appreciate all your reviews (criticisms and all!), and I read all your glorious reviews over and over again to get motivated to write again. If you aren't too mad about the long delay, please leave me another one!


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